CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Magistrates Courts

Simon Hughes: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs which magistrates courts have been closed in Greater London since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: Closures of magistrates' courts are a matter for local Magistrates Courts Committees (MCC). Three magistrates' courts have closed in Greater London since 1997. These were Marlborough Street on 31 March 1997, Clerkenwell on 31 December 1998 and Hampstead 31 March 1997.
	Ministers may only intervene in the event of an appeal by the Paying Authority. Ministers have allowed appeals against closure of four magistrates' court houses in London, during the period. These are at Kingston Upon Thames on 8 April 2003, Sutton on 8 March 2004, Harrow on 8 March 2004 and Barking and Dagenham on 8 March 2003.

TRANSPORT

Chief Scientific Adviser

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the previous work experience and knowledge of the Department's Chief Scientific Adviser that is relevant to the position.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport's Chief Scientific Adviser is Professor Frank Kelly, who divides his time between this role and his position as Professor of the Mathematics of Systems at the University of Cambridge. He obtained his doctorate in 1976 from the University of Cambridge, and since then has held positions in the University's Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Mathematics.
	Professor Kelly's research interests are in random processes, networks and optimization, and especially in applications to the design and control of networks and the understanding of congestion phenomena. He and colleagues at Cambridge developed, jointly with British Telecom, the routing scheme implemented in BT's main digital telephone network. His current research is directed at understanding methods of self-regulation in large-scale complex networks, which include both transport networks and the communication infrastructures upon which our experiences of transport increasingly depend.
	Frank Kelly has received several prizes for his work. In 1989 he was awarded the Guy Medal in Silver of the Royal Statistical Society, and in the same year he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1992 he was awarded the Lanchester Prize of the Operations Research Society of America, he gave the 1995 Clifford Paterson Lecture of the Royal Society, the 1996 Blackett Lecture of the Operational Research Society, and was awarded the 1997 Naylor Prize of the London Mathematical Society. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Heriot-Watt University in 2001.
	Professor Kelly served as Director of the Statistical Laboratory in the University of Cambridge from 1991 to 1993. He has served on the Scientific Board of Hewlett-Packard's Basic Research Institute in Mathematical Sciences, the Scientific Council of EURANDOM, the Conseil Scientifique of France Telecom, the Council of the Royal Society and the Council of the Royal Statistical Society. He has chaired the Royal Institution/University of Cambridge Mathematics Enrichment Project, and the management committee of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences.

Chief Scientific Adviser

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the process by which the Department's Chief Scientific Adviser was employed; and if he will publish the application details of the other short-listed candidates.

Tony McNulty: This was an open competition to recruit a Chief Scientific Adviser at Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 2 level for the Department.
	The process was managed and chaired by Alastair Macdonald, the Civil Service Commissioner. The other panel members were Lord Oxburgh, Sir David King, the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser and the previous DfT Permanent Secretary Rachael Lomax and the current Permanent DfT Secretary David Rowlands.
	The successful candidate was Professor Frank Kelly who took up post on 1 August 2003. It is not the Department's practice to declare the names of the other short listed candidates, as all applications are made in confidence.

Departmental Officials

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which former officials of the Department have asked for permission to join (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst and Young and (d) KPMG.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport formed on 29 May 2002. All information provided dates from 29 May 2002.
	All civil servants are subject to the Business Appointment Rules, which set out the circumstances in which they must seek permission to accept outside appointments within two years of leaving the Civil Service. A copy of the Rules is available in the Libraries of the House. Information about appointments taken up by the most senior staff is published in the annual reports of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. The next annual report will be published shortly.
	According to Department for Transport records and records kept by the Cabinet Office, no former officials of the Department have asked for permission to join (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst and Young or (d) KPMG.

Home Zone Area-Based Initiative

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding has been allocated in (a) 2000–05, (b) 2005–06 and (c) total to the Home Zone area-based initiative.

Tony McNulty: Local authorities are generally expected to fund Home Zones from mainstream funding, particularly the Single Capital Pot, and allocations are not identified or recorded centrally. Through the one-off Home Zone Challenge programme, a total of £30 million funding was allocated to individual schemes in England for the period 2001–05, and was not based on yearly allocations.

Road Accidents

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrians were (a) killed and (b) injured in road traffic accidents in each year since 1997 in Greater London, broken down by borough.

David Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Pedestrian casualties by severity for Greater London: 1997–2002
		
			   1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Barking Killed 3 2 3 2 2 1 
			  Injured 156 167 138 130 125 121 
			 Bamet Killed 6 5 6 6 4 5 
			  Injured 260 298 319 274 274 257 
			 Bexley Killed 3 2 1 2 3 1 
			  Injured 122 132 152 144 149 131 
			 Brent Killed 3 5 8 9 2 2 
			  Injured 323 310 318 323 264 281 
			 Bromley Killed 2 5 7 6 3 3 
			  Injured 248 195 198 155 188 200 
			 Camden Killed 6 3 7 5 4 5 
			  Injured 458 412 439 423 395 360 
			 City of London Killed 0 2 0 2 0 0 
			  Injured 160 165 159 153 126 115 
			 Croydon Killed 4 3 1 7 4 9 
			  Injured 334 327 363 308 306 263 
			 Ealing Killed 10 5 12 5 5 9 
			  Injured 347 321 376 335 303 303 
			 Enfield Killed 9 4 5 2 3 2 
			  Injured 287 267 265 249 221 237 
			 Greenwich Killed 3 7 1 3 3 6 
			  Injured 250 238 233 228 208 207 
			 Hackney Killed 4 4 1 6 4 2 
			  Injured 338 312 319 299 304 250 
			 Hammersmith Killed 6 3 3 3 2 2 
			  Injured 258 209 258 204 214 199 
			 Haringey Killed 5 1 1 6 10 8 
			  Injured 309 292 294 355 297 296 
			 Harrow Killed 2 1 5 2 5 1 
			  Injured 170 150 141 135 141 100 
			 Havering Killed 5 2 3 2 5 1 
			  Injured 138 168 137 121 161 124 
			 Hillingdon Killed 9 0 5 4 0 4 
			  Injured 223 201 169 166 186 181 
			 Hounslow Killed 5 5 5 6 4 5 
			  Injured 232 199 173 185 182 160 
			 Islington Killed 6 7 4 6 2 4 
			  Injured 330 363 321 328 309 305 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Killed 4 4 4 3 5 4 
			  Injured 327 327 304 271 250 201 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames Killed 7 4 3 0 2 1 
			  Injured 129 91 82 96 98 97 
			 Lambeth Killed 9 9 3 5 9 5 
			  Injured 436 490 452 437 392 359 
			 Lewisham Killed 2 7 4 3 5 3 
			  Injured 353 309 345 320 261 272 
			 Merton Killed 1 2 3 3 2 0 
			  Injured 154 163 158 143 143 108 
			 Newham Killed 1 2 6 2 5 1 
			  Injured 316 321 307 310 270 257 
			 Redbridge Killed 6 3 6 5 4 2 
			  Injured 176 189 195 171 177 166 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames Killed 1 1 2 2 1 1 
			  Injured 127 108 116 119 116 116 
			 Southwark Killed 5 3 4 3 6 3 
			  Injured 370 371 375 375 352 303 
			 Sutton Killed 2 2 3 1 2 4 
			  Injured 118 119 119 110 98 80 
			 Tower Hamlets Killed 6 2 5 7 3 5 
			  Injured 238 288 250 255 258 212 
			 Waltham Forest Killed 6 3 2 6 4 4 
			  Injured 228 278 234 211 210 194 
			 Wandsworth Killed 5 2 3 5 2 0 
			  Injured 270 275 291 276 290 267 
			 Westminster Killed 13 8 8 12 13 10 
			  Injured 849 868 870 869 752 640

Secondments

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what secondments (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young and (d) KPMG have made to his Department since 2001; for what (i) periods and (ii) tasks the secondments were made; whether secondments of staff from his Department have been made to those firms; and for what (A) periods and (B) tasks.

Tony McNulty: Secondments are part of the Interchange Initiative, which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. Before an Interchange can occur all parties must be satisfied that no conflict of interest arises.
	The Department for Transport was formed on 29 May 2002. All information dates from 29 May 2002.
	According to Department records, there have been no secondments of staff from Department for Transport to these firms.
	According to Department records, there has been one secondment into the Department for Transport from these firms:
	1 Grade: SCS
	Band: SCSPB
	Organisation: Ernst & Young
	Host: Transport Finance Directorate
	Post held: Assistant to Corporate Finance Advisor
	Start: 19 January 2004
	End: January 2005

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

1 Millbank

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners if he will list those others occupying parts of 1 Millbank indicating in each case (a) the square footage occupied and (b) the rental received.

Stuart Bell: Central Lobby Consultants occupy 1,299 square feet at 1 Millbank and Parliamentary Contacts occupy 250 square feet. The whole of the adjacent sites at 2 Millbank and 5 Great College Street are also let.
	The Church Commissioners do not publish income figures for individual tenants as this information is commercially sensitive.

DEFENCE

Defence Estates

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much public money was spent on the relaunch of Defence Estates prior to April 2003.

Ivor Caplin: A total of £24,066 was spent on the re-launch of Defence Estates, which took place on 1 April 2003.

National Servicemen (Memorial)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to promote the establishment of a memorial to the UK's post-1945 National Servicemen.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence receives many requests from individuals, ex-Servicemen's groups and charitable organisations seeking assistance with various projects. The vast majority have worthy goals and can make an equally compelling case for support. It will therefore continue to be our policy not to promote any specific projects, such as that advocated by the hon. Member, as it would be divisive and open to criticism from unsuccessful applicants, if the Government were to pick and choose which to support.
	A memorial dedicated to all National Servicemen was unveiled last year at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

Press Officers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many press officers were employed in his Department in each year from 1990–91 to 2003–04; what the total cost was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: Information for the years from 1994–95 to 2001–02 was provided in my letter of 14 July 2003 to the hon. Member, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Information for the years 1990–91 to 1993–94 is no longer available. Information for the years 2002–03 to 2003–04 is currently being researched and I will write again to the hon. Member once the information is to hand.

RAF Innsworth

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what account he will take of the impact on the community of Innsworth, Gloucestershire, when deciding on the future of RAF Innsworth; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he plans to have with personnel at RAF Innsworth, Gloucestershire, about the future of the base; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The implications of defence decisions on Service and civilian personnel, and indeed the wider community will be actively considered in the analysis and decision making process.
	Personnel at RAF Headquarters Personnel and Training Command have been informed of the planned work to examine the possible collocation of the RAF Headquarters and they will continue to be updated at appropriate intervals. A communication strategy, including consultation with Trades Unions, is in place to ensure dialogue between the study team and all staff.

RAF Innsworth

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make a decision on the future of RAF Innsworth, Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I expect a report on the findings of the study into the possible collocation of the RAF Headquarters before the end of the year, and will make a decision thereafter.

RAF Innsworth

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors he will take into account when deciding on the future of RAF Innsworth, Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: In reaching a decision on the future of RAF Headquarters Personnel and Training Command, the operational and financial implications of the options under consideration together with the relevant environmental, social and economic effects, including the impact of other relevant studies will be considered.

Retirement Age

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department intends to remove its compulsory retirement age of 60.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 22 March 2004
	The Department is now reviewing its retirement age policy for all MOD Civil Servants below the Senior Civil Service. The review will also consider when the Department should implement any changes resulting from that review.
	The Department's current retirement age of 60 does not apply to all grades; some have a retirement age of 65 and others somewhere between 60 and 65.

Secondments

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what secondments (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young and (d) KPMG have made to his Department since 2001; for what (i) periods and (ii) tasks the secondments were made; whether secondments of staff from his Department have been made to those firms; and for what (A) periods and (B) tasks.

Ivor Caplin: Information available on personnel seconded to the Ministry of Defence from the above named companies from 2001 is as follows:
	
		Inward Secondments
		
			 Company Start date End Date Tasks 
		
		
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers October 2000 October 2001 Commercial Adviser 
			 Ernst & Young February 2001 February 2002 Commercial Adviser 
			 Ernst & Young October 2001 August 2002 Commercial Adviser 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers August 2002 August 2004 Commercial Adviser 
		
	
	There are no outward secondments.

Project Angus

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the purpose, cost and duration of Project Angus.

Ivor Caplin: Project Angus is the construction of a new Fleet headquarters building at Whale Island, Portsmouth. Construction started in February 2003 and the completed building will be handed over to the Royal Navy in May 2004, at an estimated final cost of £22 million. This is the final step in the Fleet First re-organisation of the Fleet headquarters which has created a better integrated and more effective Fleet headquarters and saved around £10 million a year in running costs.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how the performance of Connexions Direct is assessed.

Margaret Hodge: Connexions Direct is assessed by measuring their performance against indicators which include the service being available 18 hours a day and the promptness of answering. In addition, a pilot user survey has been conducted and a mystery shopping exercise is being undertaken.

Sure Start

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding is being allocated to Sure Start in the next three years.

Margaret Hodge: Sure Start was allocated funding of £1,223 million for 2004–05 and £1,510 million for 2005–06 in the last spending review, in summer 2002. Funding for 2006–07 will be confirmed, later this year.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Coastal Damage Compensation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was (a) allocated to and (b) spent on coastal damage compensation in each of the last five years.

Elliot Morley: Defra does not allocate funds to be spent on coastal damage compensation. Except in limited circumstances no compensation is payable to those affected by flooding or erosion, including cases where it is decided not to defend a particular area, or to undertake managed realignment. This approach, adopted by successive governments, is justified by current legislation which provides operating authorities with permissive powers to undertake flood and coastal defence works. There is no general obligation to build or maintain defences at all or to a particular standard. Consonant with this approach, the legislation also makes no provision for compensation from public funds to persons whose property or land are affected by erosion or flooding.

Energy Efficiency

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what energy targets she plans to introduce for the Government estate to reduce energy consumption per square metre of buildings floor area over the present decade.

Elliot Morley: The government published on 26 February 2004, the energy section of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. This contained all of the energy targets for the central government estate including the following:
	"Government Departments to increase the energy efficiency of the buildings on their estate, measured in terms of kWh of (1) fuel and (2) electricity use per square metre of buildings floor area, or estate area 1 , by 15 per cent. by 2010–11, relative to 1999–2000."
	1 Due to the diversity of the Government Estate, Departments can report using either the floor area of their buildings, or the total estate area.

Energy Efficiency

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many grants to aid domestic energy efficiency there were in (a) Staffordshire and (b) the Burton constituency in each of the last three years; and what the total cost of such grants was.

Elliot Morley: A number of programmes exist to improve the energy efficiency of a household including schemes run by local authorities and work of the Energy Saving Trust. The Department does not collect data on the number of grants awarded and their cost through these schemes.
	Under the Warm Front scheme, which is the main Government scheme for tackling fuel poverty and is funded by the Department, between June 2000 and December 2003, 3,764 grants were awarded in the Staffordshire area with a total cost of around £2 million. Of these, 1,653 grants were awarded in the Burton area with a cost of £390,000.

Energy Efficiency

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many homes in Buckingham have benefited from the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme.

Elliot Morley: The New Home Energy Efficiency Scheme is now marketed as Warm Front. Between the launch of the scheme in June 2000 and the end of December 2003, 341 households in the Buckingham constituency received assistance from the scheme.

Advisory Committee on Packaging

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) total budget and (b) budget for administration for the Advisory Committee on Packaging was in financial year 2002–03.

Elliot Morley: The Advisory Committee on Packaging does not have a dedicated budget, but the ACP and its activities are supported by the Defra Waste Management Division's Producer Responsibility Unit.

Agricultural Subsidies

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what subsidy will be given to farms on the Somerset levels in the financial years (a) before and (b) after the mid-term Common Agricultural Policy reform.

Alun Michael: The subsidy provided to farmers in the Somerset area for the EAGGF 2003 year (16 October 2002 to 15 October 2003) was £29,753,136.13. This includes any receipts under the following schemes: Arable Area Payments, Beef Special Premium, Sheep Annual Premium, Suckler Cow Premium, Slaughter Premium, Extensification Payment and Hill Farming Allowance. We have made no projections of receipts at a county level in future years.

Asgard Systems

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will establish an inquiry into the part played by her Department in the liquidation of Asgard Systems Ltd. of Bedford.

Alun Michael: I do not consider it appropriate for the Department to hold such an inquiry. Advice was given to Asgard Systems Ltd. primarily by the Environment Agency, which has a well established "Complaints and Commendations Procedure" for any complaints against it.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures can be taken against obviously diseased badgers observed in areas outside the current Krebs trials areas.

Ben Bradshaw: Badgers are a protected species and the terms of their protection, including the restricted circumstances when action might be taken against them, are set out in the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answers of 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 1W, and 12 February 2004, Official Report, column 156W, on badgers, whether increases in badger population have occurred in areas in which the 1990 badger survey predicted that it was unlikely that further significant increases would occur.

Ben Bradshaw: There has been no national survey of badgers since the mid-1990s 1 and therefore, the necessary information to answer this question is not available.
	1 "Changes in the British badger population, 1988 to 1997" by G. Wilson, S. Harris and G. McLaren (1997), published by the People's Trust for Endangered Species (ISBN 1 85580 018 7).

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she has collated on the effectiveness of reactive culling of badgers in TB breakdown areas as a mechanism of control when applied as part of an overall control package.

Ben Bradshaw: On the basis of current scientific evidence, reactive culling as carried out in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial is not viable as a policy option. There are circumstances in which localised culling of badgers might be considered in the future, for example in combination with a vaccine or live test for bovine TB, but neither of these is currently available.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the presence of TB in the badger population presents a risk of infection to other wildlife.

Ben Bradshaw: Theoretically, it is possible for badgers to pass TB to other wildlife species, but the low level of incidence of the disease in species such as foxes (which can share sett space with badgers) and small rodents suggests they are not a significant risk.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the value of (a) percussion guns and (b) snares as a means of controlling badger populations.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) The use of percussion guns in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) has not been considered; they are a weapon for stunning, not killing, animals.
	(b) The use of snares by the Department in the past, and recent work in Ireland, would suggest that a higher trapping efficiency can be achieved than by cage trapping. However, the decision was taken, primarily on welfare grounds, that snares would not be used in the RBCT.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice has been given by her Department to farmers in the Peak District when repairing stone walls and stiles regarding contact with badger latrines; and what advice has been given to members of the public.

Ben Bradshaw: The Rural Development Service (RDS) of Defra provide grants under the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) to farmers and land managers in the Peak District National Park to restore drystone walls and construct stiles. These grants are made through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) or the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) scheme.
	Technical guidance is provided concerning the choice of materials used and methods of construction. However, CSS and ESA Project Officers do not give advice to landowners, land managers, drystone wall contractors or members of the public over the health implications of contact with badger latrines. Where farms are open under the educational access component of the CSS, biosecurity measures are required including facilities for hand washing. However, this general guidance is not specific to contact with badger latrines.
	Any one seeking advice on badgers should contact my Department's National Wildlife Management Team (Tel: 0845 6014523; e-mail: enquiries.southwest @defra.gsi.gov.uk). I am informed that the Team has not received any recent queries regarding badger latrines from farmers or members of the public in the Peak District.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the latest average cost is of carrying out a full post-mortem examination of a badger carcase to determine its TB status, including the cost of microbiological testing.

Ben Bradshaw: The average cost per carcase of the post mortem examination, as used for badgers taken in the randomised culling trial, including both the TB culture costs and the small number of associated histopathological tests, is currently £87.22.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answers of 6 January, Official Report, column 250W and 20 January 2004, Official Report, column 1186W, on badgers, what assessment she has made of the reliability of the live test for TB in badgers; and what assessment she has made of the risk that translocated badgers released after testing are not free from TB infection.

Ben Bradshaw: The indirect ELISA for badgers (known as the live test) was evaluated using blood samples collected from 1982 badgers killed during statutory badger removal operations in 1991 to 1993. The sensitivity of the test was 40.7 per cent. and the specificity 94.3 per cent. The positive predictive value (the percentage of positive test results where the animal was confirmed as infected) of the test was 67.5 per cent. the negative predictive value (the percentage of negative test results where the animal was confirmed as uninfected) 84.6 per cent. A project (development of immunological assays for the detection of Mycobacterium bovis infection in badgers), funded by the Department, is investigating this area. The project is due to end in March 2005 and the final report should be available shortly afterwards.
	Regarding the assessment of the risk that translocated badgers are not free from TB infection, it is current practice to test all candidates for translocation using the live test three times before release. If any test is positive, then that animal and members in its group are not released. A released animal which has had three negative test results has a 2.7 per cent. risk of actually being infected if it comes from a population with a background prevalence of infection of 10 per cent.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her consultation document, "Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine tuberculosis", page 23, figure 3, what the forecast public expenditure for each year from 2004–05 to 2012–13 is, broken down by main cost centres.

Ben Bradshaw: Figure 3 on page 23 of the document "Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine tuberculosis" represents a projection of the costs of current policies. The forecast for GB public expenditure for the next three years is shown in the following table by main cost centres.
	
		Funding for TB surveillance, control and research -- £000
		
			  2003–04 Forecast 2004–05 Allocation 2005–06 Allocation 
		
		
			 Veterinary Directorate (including Wildlife Unit and Veterinary Laboratories Agency) 13,794 14,725 14,730 
			 State Veterinary Service 30,753 37,550 41,550 
			 Animal Disease Control Division 26,217 24,958 24,958 
			 Science Directorate 3,944 3,905 3,905 
			 Total 74,708 81,138 85,143 
		
	
	Detailed budgets which can be broken down by cost centre are not available beyond the Spending Review 2002 period.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received on the awarding of grants to farmers to upgrade isolation facilities for bought-in cattle to improve TB controls.

Ben Bradshaw: No formal representations have been received regarding grants to upgrade isolation facilities for bought-in cattle.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funds are available from European Union sources to assist the financing of TB (a) testing and (b) monitoring schemes.

Ben Bradshaw: The EU Veterinary Fund, which aims to ensure financial support to member states for expenditure to help control or eradicate certain diseases, is set down in Council Decision 90/424. The total budget is set annually and allocations to disease control programmes in member states are made according to priorities proposed by the Commission and agreed by member states.
	In 2004, Euros135,500,000 is allocated to "animal disease eradication and monitoring programmes and monitoring of the physical conditions of animals that could pose a public-health risk linked to an external factor". TB is one of the diseases covered by this part of the fund and Euros6,830,000 is allocated to TB controls.
	Council and Commission decisions and regulations can be read online on Eur-lex. http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many additional staff she estimates will be required by local authorities to enforce her proposed Tuberculosis (England) Order 2004 over the first five years of its application;
	(2)  what consultations she has had with local authorities and their representative bodies on the resource implications arising from the enforcement of her proposed Tuberculosis (England) Order.

Ben Bradshaw: Consideration of the costs to local government will be considered fully in the final Regulatory Impact Assessment for the proposed new Tuberculosis (England) Order 2004.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average time has been between a TB reactor being reported, the carrying out of microbiological confirmation tests and the reporting of results back to farms in areas other than the Krebs areas since the trials began.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is kept on individual files for each TB breakdown and cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what she estimates the resource implications are of seeking a full regime of pre- and post-movement testing of cattle from one and two year testing herds to all three and four year receiving herds in terms of (a) additional veterinary hours required, (b) time inputs required by livestock owners and managers and (c) the costs of testing.

Ben Bradshaw: None. The proposal as set out in the consultation document 'Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine TB' is for pre-movement testing of cattle moving from one and two year testing herds to other herds. The resource implications of this proposal will be estimated as part of the consultation process which will involve discussions with veterinary and farming interests.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the average cost was to livestock farmers, per head of stock examined, of facilitating the conduct of official TB tests in their herds;
	(2)  what the average cost to a cattle herd owner of the application of a TB2 restriction notice was in the last period for which figures are available;
	(3)  pursuant to her answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 216W, what assessment she has made of whether milk production on farms which have suffered multiple TB breakdowns is economically sustainable in the absence of compensation for consequential losses.

Ben Bradshaw: The cost of TB to farmers in Great Britain is currently being assessed. Defra has commissioned Reading University to carry out research into the economic impacts of TB and alternative control policies in Great Britain. A report is expected shortly and a summary of the findings will be published on the Defra website in due course.
	It is for the individual farmer to decide if his or her business is economically sustainable or not.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the TB testing of badger carcases from road traffic accidents outside TB hotspot areas.

Ben Bradshaw: On advice from the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG), a limited Road Traffic Accident (RTA) survey is being conducted in seven counties in England (Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Dorset). The objective of the survey is to determine, with the ISG's help, if RTA data can provide an accurate indication of the prevalence of "M. bovis" (the causative organism for bovine TB) in badgers by comparing it with the data from the randomised badger culling trial. The Central Science Laboratory (CSL) has been employed to collect badger carcasses for the project since 1 June 2002.
	In addition, Defra is carrying out a survey of badgers killed in road accidents in the Furness peninsula following an unexplained rise in bovine TB incidents in south west Cumbria.
	We are awaiting the results of the validation of the survey in the badger culling trial areas before taking any decisions about extending the survey area further. There are also logistical and budgetary problems in extending the RTA survey.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications for section 10 licences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, permitting the killing of badgers, have been made by (a) farmers and (b) other private landowners; and how many have been issued to each for the express purpose of preventing the spread of disease, in each year since the Act has been in force.

Ben Bradshaw: When members of the public approach my Department with a badger problem, most come seeking our advice on how they can resolve their problem. Only a small number have a clear idea of what action they want to take. Because of this it is not possible to distinguish between applications on the basis of whether the applicant wanted to kill the badgers, relocate them or simply close a problem sett. Thus, we cannot provide figures for the first part of this question.
	The number of licences issued to farmers and other private landowners for the express purpose of preventing the spread of disease in each year for which there are computer records, is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001 0 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 0 
		
	
	We are not aware of any licences to kill badgers being issued to farmers or other private landowners prevent the spread of disease between 1992 and 2001.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent instructions have been given to state veterinary officials regarding the interpretation of the skin test for TB in cattle.

Ben Bradshaw: The interpretation of the single intradermal comparative cervical test (skin test) used in GB for the diagnosis of bovine TB is laid down in Annex B of Council Directive 64/432/EEC (as amended). The existing TB manuals for the State Veterinary Service and Local Veterinary Inspectors reflect this. No changes have been made recently to the interpretation of the skin test for TB in cattle.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of (a) programmes in countries other than the UK which have successfully controlled TB in cattle by controlling the disease in wildlife reservoirs and (b) the application those programmes might have for the UK.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra officials remain in contact, and continue to exchange information, with colleagues in other countries that are experiencing problems with the control of TB in cattle where there is a wildlife disease reservoir.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the most recently calculated rate of repeat TB breakdowns in cattle herds is in (a) England and (b) Scotland.

Ben Bradshaw: The most recent information on recurrent (repeat) TB incidents dates back to 2002. This shows that the number of confirmed new TB incidents (CNIs) in herds that had a history of CNI in the previous three years increased by 72 per cent. between 2000 and 2002. This increase was not significantly different from the overall percentage increase in CNIs. In England, approximately 25 per cent. of herds with a CNI in 2002 had a history of CNI in the previous three years. In contrast, none of the 27 Scottish herds affected by CNIs in 2002 had experienced a CNI in the previous three years.
	Because of the distorted pattern of TB incidents (breakdowns) caused by the suspension of TB testing during 2001, bovine TB statistics for 2002 may not be representative of a typical year. Similar data on repeat TB breakdowns for2003 has not been collated yet.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether badgers can acquire TB from infected members of other species on which they predate.

Ben Bradshaw: The consumption of infected carcases, prey or otherwise, is a potential route for M. bovis infection in badgers.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether adverse effects have been observed in cattle subject to continuous 60-day TB testing.

Ben Bradshaw: No adverse effects have been observed in cattle subjected to 60-day (short-interval) tuberculin testing.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has carried out an assessment of the measures necessary to gain public acceptance of large-scale badger culling.

Ben Bradshaw: No such assessment has been carried out.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of whether her containment policy for bovine TB will also contain the spread of M. bovis in badgers.

Ben Bradshaw: No such assessment has been made.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 30 January 2004, Official Report, column 538W, on badgers, what the source of her definition of epidemic is.

Ben Bradshaw: Definitions of the term 'epidemic' that are consistent with that given in the answer on 30 January 2004, Official Report, column 538W, can be found in standard epidemiological textbooks, such as:
	1. Thrusfield, M. (1995). Veterinary Epidemiology. 2nd Edition. Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK. (page 26).
	2. Last, J. M. (1995). A Dictionary of Epidemiology. 3rd Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. (page 54).

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether cats resident on farms on which a TB breakdown has occurred are routinely tested for TB infection.

Ben Bradshaw: Cats resident on farms on which a TB breakdown has occurred are not routinely tested for TB infection.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many herds are participating in gamma-interferon testing.

Ben Bradshaw: By the end of February 2004, 88 herds had been recruited to the gamma-interferon field trial.
	In addition, between 1 January 2003 and 29 February 2004, ad-hoc gamma-interferon tests were approved in 19 herds that did not qualify for the field trial. Formal instructions were issued to the State Veterinary Service in November 2003, which provide for the use of the gamma-interferon test in the following circumstances:
	to aid decision making in relation to whole or partial herd slaughter in severe TB breakdowns 1 ;
	as a parallel test for non-reactor cattle in ongoing, confirmed TB incidents with a chronic TB problem, but which do not qualify for the field trial 1 ; or
	as a serial test, to resolve skin test reactors or inconclusive reactors in prolonged unconfirmed TB incidents within low TB prevalence areas where there is a suspicion of non-specific reactivity to the skin test 2 .
	1 gamma-interferon used to enhance overall sensitivity of testing,
	2 gamma-interferon complements skin test to achieve better specificity.

TB Strategy

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications of the Common Agricultural Policy mid-term review for the development of a TB strategy.

Ben Bradshaw: In developing policies on bovine TB Government will take into account the structure and economics of the cattle farming industry, including the impact of the 2003 CAP reform agreement.

Biofuels

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the level of duty on bio-ethanol.

Elliot Morley: The Department is in regular contact with Treasury Ministers to discuss a whole range of matters related to energy and environmental policy. In addition, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, meets regularly with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a wide range of matters that affect the business of the Department. As with all tax matters, decisions on tax incentives rest with the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Brucellosis (Cornwall)

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures her Department has put in place to contain the recent outbreak of brucellosis in Cornwall.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 23 March 2004
	The cow which gave rise to confirmation of the brucellosis outbreak had been immediately subject to movement restrictions following her abortion on 9 March. No movements of cattle onto or off the premises of the infected herd were permitted from the time that indications of possible Brucella infection were first reported on 12 March. The four cows and one bull which tested seropositive for brucellosis during investigations were slaughtered on 18 March following confirmation of brucellosis that day; the remainder of the herd was slaughtered on 19 March. Precautionary movement restrictions have also been placed on seven neighbouring herds which are currently undergoing further tests and on the herd which supplied two bulls to the farm during the preceding 12 months; no other cattle apart from seven calves from a neighbouring premises have been brought onto the farm during that time. In the last year there have been only a small number of movements off the farm, other than movements direct to slaughter. These animals are being traced and will be tested. Cattle not born in Great Britain and imported into Cornwall and Devon are also being traced.

Pesticides

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will review the use of chlorpyrifos as an insecticide.

Alun Michael: The use of chlorpyrifos has been under review since 1998 as part of the UK review of anticholinesterase compounds. The human health aspects were completed in June 2003 and the review of environmental effects is on-going.
	In addition chlorpyrifos is being reviewed on a Europe-wide basis under Council Directive 91/414. Spain has lead responsibility in taking forward that review.

Pesticides

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of chlorpyrifos on riparian bird life.

Alun Michael: The Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) has assessed the effect of chlorpyrifos on birds as a part of an ongoing review of this active substance. The ACP concluded that there is a negligible risk of chlorpyrifos accumulating in fish, and that as a result the risk to birds that eat fish is acceptable.
	Risk assessments were also made for other potential routes of bird exposure. Further data have been requested to confirm that chlorpyrifos used on grass and cereals does not pose an acute or short term risk to grazing birds, or to birds eating small insects in orchards. Information has also been requested on granular forms of chlorpyrifos to address any acute and short-term risk to birds consuming chlorpyrifos in this form. These data must be submitted by August 2006.

Pesticides

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of chlorpyrifos on fly fishing.

Alun Michael: No specific assessment has been made of the impact of chlorpyrifos on fly fishing.
	However the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) is assessing the effect of chlorpyrifos on aquatic life (including fish) as a part of an on-going review of this active substance. At the ACP's request, approval holders have submitted a strategy (including a timetable for the provision of further data) to help complete this assessment. The ACP is currently awaiting further detailed study protocols for agreement.

Common Agricultural Policy

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Alun Michael: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly meets her counterparts from the other member states to discuss CAP reform, most recently she met with the Italian and Dutch Agriculture Ministers. Aspects of the CAP reform package agreed in June 2003 were discussed at the Council meeting on 24 February. At its meeting on 23 March the council discussed reforms of sectors that were not included in last year's reforms: olive oil, table olives, tobacco, cotton and hops. My right hon. Friend also recently had various discussions with Commissioner Fischler on CAP reform issues, both bilaterally and as part of meetings of the Agriculture Council. CAP reform is very important domestically and internationally and we continue to press our case with the Commission and other member states at Ministerial bilateral and Council meetings, as well as at official level meetings.

Cod Fishery

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cod by-catch recorded from Scottish vessels fishing in ICES (a) IVa and (b) IVb areas was during 2003.

Ben Bradshaw: There is no significant by-catch of cod known in the trawl fisheries targeting pelagic species like herring in the North Sea, but between 3.5 per cent. and 7 per cent. of all UK cod landings from the North Sea are taken from the Fladen fishing grounds, where the fishery predominantly targets Nephrops (prawns).
	However, the by-catch of cod varies between different fisheries: there is no meaningful fleet or area average. A further complication is that catch composition may differ from recorded landings because of discarding at sea for example: catch composition is only observed in a sample of fishing trips.

Rod Fishing

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many rod fishing licence applications have been made since the introduction of the online facility; and how many of these were made online.

Ben Bradshaw: The figures on rod fishing licence applications are as follows:
	
		
			 Rod Licence Sales 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Total rod licence sales 1,137,478 1,188,400 1,227,680 
			 Internet sales of rod licences 12,531 31,501 49,461

Flooding

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money was given to the Wessex Flood Defence Committee in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency is required to arrange for its flood defence functions, except for certain financial ones, to be carried out by Regional Flood Defence Committees (RFDCs). The RFDC may arrange for all or any of these functions to be carried out by Local Flood Defence Committees (LFDCs) under a scheme approved by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
	I understand from the Agency that the total of Defra grant and levies on local authorities for the three local flood defence committees under the Wessex RFDC was £23.2 million in 2002–03 and is estimated to be £25.5 million in 2003–04.
	Other funding is obtained from developers and district councils for specific projects.

Flooding

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under which powers the Environment Agency is charging for maps of flood risk areas; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Where charges are made to certain businesses for specific requirements, the Environment Agency's power to charge derives from the Environmental Information Regulations 1992 (as amended) and from sections 37 and 43 of the Environment Act 1995.

Foot and Mouth

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many businesses in (a) Devon and (b) Cornwall are owed money by the Department for carrying out work during the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001; how much is owed for (i) Devon and (ii) Cornwall; and what the largest amount owing to each business is.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (Brian Cotter) on 6 January, 2004, Official Report, column 261W.
	The Department is in dispute with one contractor in Devon over charges arising, or which are claimed to have arisen, from the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak. It would be inappropriate to comment on a case that is the subject of alternative disputes resolution procedures and, possibly, litigation in due course.
	Currently, the Department has no disputes with contractors in Cornwall.

GM Crops

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research is being conducted into inter-species gene flow between GM maize and other plants.

Elliot Morley: I am not aware of any research in the UK on inter-species gene flow between GM maize and other plants.
	The Department has commissioned a project looking at intra-specific gene flow between non-GM maize crops in existing maize crops in the UK using naturally occurring molecular markers. A small part of the project includes an examination of the likelihood of maize cross-pollinating with rye grass, a distantly related species. Maize originates in the Americas and there is no evidence that it can cross-pollinate with any UK species under natural conditions.
	More research has been conducted in central America where cultivated maize varieties grow alongside sexually compatible wild relatives, but the findings have no relevance to UK conditions.
	The GM science review recently assessed the evidence for inter-species gene flow (www.gmsciencedebate. org.uk, First report, Chapter 7.3). They concluded that in the UK, for crops including maize, that gene flow to wild relatives was 'not an issue'.

GM Crops

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether she has communicated the shortcomings of the farm scale evaluation maize trials to the lead competent authority in France in accordance with Directive 2001/18/EC; and whether she has requested a variation in the conditions attached to the Part C consent for Chardon LL fodder maize;
	(2)  when she was informed that cattle feeding studies involving Chardon LL fodder maize had been requested by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment and the Advisory Committee on Animal Feeding Stuffs;
	(3)  whether (a) meat and (b) milk from the cattle involved in the Chardon LL feeding studies at Reading University has entered the food chain;

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she gave consent for harvested Chardon LL forage maize from farm-scale evaluation sites to be taken off-site and used in cattle feeding studies at the Reading University Centre for Dairy Research.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 23 March 2004
	I am not aware of any shortcomings of the farm-scale evaluation (FSE) maize trials, the results have been endorsed by both the Scientific Steering Committee overseeing the evaluations and the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE).
	Officials sent the results of the Farm Scale Evaluations, together with the non-specialist and scientific summaries, to the European Commission and the Competent Authorities of the Member States for their information on 20 and 21 October 2003. ACRE published its advice on the FSE results on 13 January 2004, and this advice was also sent to the Commission and the Competent Authorities on that date. On 9 March 2004 officials wrote to the French Competent Authority, which issued the relevant consent on behalf of all EU Member States, seeking amendments to the consent for Bayer T25 GM maize (Chardon LL) to limit herbicide use with the crop in line with ACRE'S advice.
	Neither the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment nor the Advisory Committee on Animal Feeding stuffs (ACAF) has requested cattle feeding studies involving Chardon LL fodder maize. ACAF has advised, on the basis of the data already submitted, that it is content that the T25 maize grain and its products pose no more risk as animal feed than non-GM maize varieties.
	The GM maize used in the farm scale evaluations has Europe wide marketing consent for use in animal feed so no consent was required to use the harvested crop in the cattle feeding study carried out at the University of Reading.
	Although there is no legal requirement to withhold the milk or meat from the food chain the protocol for the Reading University study required that the milk from the dairy cows did not enter the food chain during the period of the study.

GM Crops

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will ensure that, if Chardon LL is placed on the National Seeds Register, it will only be grown in the UK in the future with a herbicide regime exactly the same as that employed in the farm-scale evaluation programme.

Elliot Morley: On 9 March 2004 officials wrote to the French Competent Authority, which issued the relevant consent on behalf of all EU Member States, seeking amendments to the consent for Bayer T25 GM maize (Chardon LL) to limit herbicide use with the crop in line with ACRE'S advice on the FSE results.

GM Crops

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she was informed of the recommendation of Professor David Beever that no new maize variety should be placed upon the National Seeds Register unless it achieves a whole-plant target of 32 per cent.

Elliot Morley: The dry matter content achieved for maize crops depends on location, climate and variety. Views on the optimum value vary and the realistic situation is that it falls within a range of around 28–32 per cent., depending on local factors. The importance of dry matter content is taken into account in the National List system, but it is only one of a number of factors which are assessed.

GM Crops

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the involvement of Grainseed in the conduct of the National List trials for Chardon LL in 1998 and 1999, on behalf of the British Plant Breeders Society, and their impact on the research findings.

Elliot Morley: A thorough evaluation of all the data used for the assessment of Chardon LL in National List trials was conducted by the independent experts on the Herbage Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) group. The group recommended that the 1998 Grainseed data were acceptable as part of a valid assessment of the performance of Chardon LL. However, the group recommended that the 1999 Grainseed data should be excluded because of substandard plant populations. This was done and data from a reserve site used instead.

GM Crops

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence she has collated, in the absence of ruminant feeding studies, that Chardon LL has added value for cultivation and use in the United Kingdom.

Elliot Morley: The criterion for adding a variety to the UK National List is that it should, taking its qualities as a whole, represent a clear improvement compared with other forage maize varieties already on the UK List. Chardon has been assessed on this basis and found to meet the performance standards set to indicate a clear improvement in value for cultivation and use. The evidence for this is that in National List trials, Chardon's results met the improvement standards for several important characteristics. Animal feeding studies are not required for this assessment.

GM Crops

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the results of the Reading University Chardon LL feeding studies involving broiler chickens.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 23 March 2004
	I am unaware of any feeding studies undertaken by Reading University involving broiler chickens and GM maize Chardon LL Publication of the results of studies carried out by the University is a matter for them and those funding the work.

Illegal Timber

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she is taking to ensure that illegally logged timber on board MV Greveno does not enter the United Kingdom.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 23 March 2004
	The UK is pressing for a new EU import Regulation as part of the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) process. This Regulation would apply to timber imports from FLEGT partner countries. Until this Regulation is in force, Customs have no powers to prevent illegally logged timber from being imported into the UK.
	The UK is working closely with the Government of Indonesia to control illegal logging and its associated trade. The UK Government have drawn the shipment of timber on the MV Greveno to the attention of the relevant Indonesian authorities, who will look into the issue immediately.
	As requested by the Council of the European Union, the UK Government are also currently examining the feasibility of using national legislation, such as that related to money laundering, to deal with imports of timber that have been produced in contravention of the laws of the producer country.

Ministerial Statements

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason she did not announce the publication of the 4th Annual Report on UK Progress Towards Sustainable Development by means of a oral statement to the House.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 22 March 2004
	If too many announcements are made by oral statement at the end of Questions, Parliamentary business could be hindered.
	I announced the publication of this annual report by means of a written statement to the House on 16 March.

Rural Transport

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list parishes and towns which have been awarded Parish Transport Grant in each year since the scheme's inception.

Alun Michael: The following list of town and parish councils have been awarded a Parish Transport grant since the start of the scheme in 2001.
	Parish and town councils—1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002
	Alstonefield
	Acton Trussell and Bednall
	Arkholme-with-Cawood
	Bamford
	Beech Hill
	Belton
	Bicton
	Blockley
	Boxford
	Bradfield
	Braunstone
	Cherhill
	Dent
	Donington
	Easingwold
	Ellingham
	Feock
	Folkton
	Holy Island
	Iden
	King's Stanley
	Kirkwhelpington
	Langport
	Lydiard Millicent
	Melling-with-Wrayton
	Misterton
	Nuthall
	Rockland St. Mary
	Ryton-on-Dunsmore
	Sherburn
	Snettisham
	Surlingham
	Totton and Eling
	Ventnor
	Whittlebury
	Winford
	Wingham
	Wolsingham
	Woodhouse
	Wye with Hinxhill
	Parish and town councils 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003
	Acle
	Aldenham
	Alford
	Alrewas and Fradley
	Althorne
	Atwick
	Ballingham
	Barlaston
	Barlborough
	Barrow on Humber
	Barton Seagrave
	Beckbury
	Beeston Regis
	Belton-in-Rutland
	Bewholme
	Blanchland
	Bletchingly
	Bramham cum Oglethorpe
	Brampton
	Brereton
	Brewood
	Brington
	Brixworth
	Broomley and Stocksfield
	Broseley
	Burgh by Sands
	Burgh le Marsh
	Burythorpe
	Calne
	Calverton
	Castle Bytham
	Charing
	Charvil
	Church Stretton
	Clarborough
	Clifford
	Cockerham
	Cockfield
	Craven Arms
	Crediton
	Crich
	Crookham Village
	Dalham
	Danbury
	Denby
	Dene Valley
	Dickleburgh and Rushall
	Eccleshall
	Eggington
	Ercall magna
	Filton
	Finchingfield
	Fletching
	Great Lumley
	Great Ness and Little Ness
	Great Tey
	Greenhead
	Hadstock
	Hallaton
	Haltwhistle
	Hambleton
	Hartington upper Quarter
	Hassocks
	Hawkhurst
	Hednesford
	Heydour
	Holme upon Spalding Moor
	Holy Island
	Horam
	Ibstock
	Ivybridge
	Keswick
	Kimberley and Carlton Forehoe
	Kingston near Lewes
	Kirklevington
	Kirkwhelpington
	Kirton in Lindsey
	Kirton in Lindsey
	Lakes Parish
	Lavenham
	Long Buckby
	Manaccan
	Market Weston
	Melksham Without
	Middleton Tyas
	Milton
	Milton Abbas
	Moretonhampstead
	Napton-on-the-Hill
	Old Basing
	Oswestry
	Oxenhope
	Pickering
	Riseley
	Rockland St. Mary
	Ropley
	Saughall
	Sedbergh
	Selston
	Sennen
	Shawbury
	Sherborne
	Sheviock
	Shinfield
	Sodbury
	South Creake
	Spennymoor
	Sporle with Palgrave
	Sproatley
	St. Breward
	St. Ives
	St. Leonards and St. Ives
	Stainton
	Stanhope
	Stanton Lacy Parish Council
	Stillington
	Stoke Goldington
	Swaton
	Syderstone
	Tavistock
	Temple Sowerby
	Twyford
	Ulnes Walton
	underskiddaw
	Verwood
	Vigo
	Walkington
	Walton upon Trent
	Wargrave
	Waters Upton
	Wavendon
	Wawne
	Weeting-with-Broomhill
	Wellington
	Weston
	Weston
	Westow
	Wetton
	Whaley Bridge
	Whalton
	Whittington
	Wilsford
	Winston
	Wotton Town Council
	Wrangle
	Parish and town councils—1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004.
	Acle
	Aldenham
	Alderwasley
	Allendale
	Althorne
	Alvescot
	Ansford
	Aylesham
	Aymestry
	Barlaston
	Barlborough
	Beckley
	Beech hill
	Bircham
	Bishops Tachbrook
	Bolstone
	Boroughbridge
	Bozeat
	Brandon and Byshottles
	Braunstone
	Brixworth
	Broughton
	Broughton Astley
	Burbage
	Burnham Market
	Burton in Lonsdale
	Burton upon Stather
	Butleigh
	Castle Hedingham
	Chedburgh
	Church Broughton
	Clapham cum Newby
	Colton
	Crich
	Cricklade Town Council
	Crowle and Ealand
	Dalham
	Denby Dale
	Desford
	Dickleburgh and Rushall
	Ditcheat
	East Wittering
	Eggington
	Ellesmere Town Council
	Falmouth
	Findern
	Fishlake and Sykehouse
	Gerrards Cross
	Giggleswick
	Goodrich
	Great Carlton
	Great Gonerby
	Great Ryburgh
	Great Tey
	Hallaton
	Hallow
	Hamble-le-Rice Parish Council
	Harrietsham
	Hathern
	Haxey
	Hilton
	Holt
	Holy Island
	Horsington
	Horton in Ribblesdale
	Humber
	Hungerford
	Kinver
	Kirkby Malhamdale
	Kirkwhelpington
	Langcliffe
	Langport
	Lavenham
	Littleport Parish Council
	Malvern Wells
	Market Weston
	Mayfield
	Melbury Osmond
	Merton
	Messingham
	Mickle Trafford
	Northam
	Nunney
	Dakthorpe and Donisthorpe
	Oldland
	Ousby
	Riding Mill
	Riseley
	Rockland St. Mary
	Saltfleetby All Saints
	Sherburn
	Shincliffe
	Snettisham
	Sporle with Palgrave
	Spratton
	Stainforth
	Surlingham
	Tetney
	Thorne
	Thurston
	Ticehurst Parish Council
	Tutnall and Cobley
	Upton upon Severn
	Waddington
	Wavendon
	Weeting-with-Broomhill
	Weston
	Witley
	Wrockwardine
	Wye with Hinxhill
	Yatton
	Note: Where a group of Parishes have applied for a grant, only the lead Parish or Town council is recorded by the Countryside Agency.

Power Station Emissions

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what emissions were recorded for each power station in each year from 1998 to 2002; and what formula was used to allocate emission permits to each power station.

Elliot Morley: The Government has used the Department of Trade and Industry's updated energy projections (UEP) as a basis for calculating sectoral and installation level allocations for the power generation sector. The sector allocation is based on UEP projections of carbon dioxide less the amount the Government has decided power stations are to contribute to meeting national climate change targets and a portion to be set-aside for the New Entrants Reserve. This sectoral allocation is then allocated pro-rata to individual power stations according to historical emissions.
	The power generation sectoral allocation was calculated using the following formula:
	Average annual phase 1 allocation =
	Average annual phase 1 emissions projections(147.8 MtCO2)
	—Annual contribution to achieving EU ETS saving(5.5 MtCO2 by 2010#)
	—Annual contribution to the New entry reserve (8.2%)
	i.e. Average annual phase 1 allocation= 147.8–(1.8#)-[0.08*(147.8–1.8)]
	= 134 million allowances
	#Extrapolating back from 5.5MtCO2 in 2010, you get an average of 1.8MtCO2 saving over the three years of phase 1.
	A significant proportion of the power generators have asserted that their historical emissions data is commercially confidential. We cannot publish the data without first consulting these operators and we have written to them seeking their views about the publication of this data. Subject to the response received from individual companies, I will write to the right hon. Member with the historical emissions data for power generators in the UK.

River Invertebrates

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will meet representatives of angling associations to discuss the assistance which they can provide in the monitoring of invertebrates in rivers.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 24 March 2004
	No. However, the Government are aware of concerns over invertebrate numbers in rivers. The Environment Agency has undertaken evaluation of invertebrate data collected for General Water Quality monitoring; this analysis continues and is moving to establish definitive research to identify the causes in the decline of invertebrate numbers. The Environment Agency is engaged with angling organisations as to how anglers may help in developing this work. The Government will continue to encourage the Environment Agency to proceed with the research and collaboration with anglers and other interested bodies.

Sewerage

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is her policy to improve the liaison between local authorities and sewerage undertakers to control the rat population in sewers and drains more effectively.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 22 March 2004
	Yes. In 1999, we worked with the Local Government Association and WaterUK to prepare and publish a joint protocol, which contained arrangements for closer working relationships between water companies and local authorities in respect of rodent infestations in sewers.

Shellfish

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has made to her European counterparts on a common European approach to the monitoring of toxins in shellfish; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: None. This is the policy responsibility of the Food Standards Agency.

Shellfish

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking with the Food Standards Agency to minimise shellfish bed closures due to atypical positive results.

Ben Bradshaw: The decision on whether to close shellfish beds is the policy responsibility of local Food Authorities, advised by the Food Standards Agency. The Department continues to stay in close contact with the Agency on a whole range of issues relating to the atypical positive results to ensure the problem is fully investigated and the appropriate actions are taken.

Sumatran Tiger

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to help preserve the Sumatran tiger.

Elliot Morley: The Government are taking action through our participation in multilateral environmental agreements, notably the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which help safeguard the Sumatran tiger and other endangered species. The Government also provides funds to support "21st Century Tiger", a wild tiger conservation partnership between the Zoological Society of London and Global Tiger Patrol, which has undertaken three projects on the Sumatran tiger over the last four years.

Waste Re-use

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has had from (a) the fuel industry and (b) environmental groups on the manufacture of road fuel from waste plastics.

Elliot Morley: The Department is not aware of receiving any recent representations, on the manufacture of road fuel from waste plastics, from either the fuel industry or environmental groups. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has, in the past, received inquiries on this issue. However, because WRAP'S remit is to develop markets for recycled materials, and the manufacture of road fuel from plastics does not meet the definition of recycling in the Packaging Directive (2004/12/EC), the issue has not been pursued.

Waste Management

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will end the statutory monopoly of the Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Body to issue certificates of technical competence.

Elliot Morley: The Department is currently reviewing the permitting of waste recovery and disposal activities. Informal consultation with stakeholders has shown strong support for continuing to require applicants for permits to demonstrate technical competence, which is a feature of the current waste management licensing system. However, there was also a view that other ways of demonstrating technical competence should be introduced in addition to certificates of technical competence issued by the Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board. We are considering how to deliver this as part of a new permitting regime and expect to formally consult on proposals in due course.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for West Chelmsford will receive a reply to his letter of 27 August 2003 to the Department of Trade and Industry transferred to the Home Office on 4 September 2003 concerning Mrs. S. Hawkard.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 5 February 2004
	Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC replied to the hon. Member on 22 March 2004.

Crime Reduction Advisers

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) staffing and (b) cost changes have been over the last two years of the units headed by the crime reduction advisers based in regional Government Offices; and what measurable benefits have accrued from the increases.

David Blunkett: The Home Office transferred 169 staff to the Government Offices (GO) in June 2002 to work on the Crime Reduction agenda, along with funding of £6.104 million. This included 24 research staff who remained on the Home Office payroll but who were co-located in the GOs. The staffing levels have remained the same in 2003–04, though the funding increased to £8.143 million to reflect the full year's cost.
	Crime reduction teams in the nine Government Offices are focused on improving the performance of poor performing Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and those with the highest crime rates. They are working closely with these partnerships to identify their strengths and weaknesses across a range of competencies and to develop and implement improvement plans. The deployment of researchers and analysts in each region has also allowed the crime teams to support and develop partnerships more effectively.

National Offender Management Scheme

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has appointed a Programme Board for the National Offender Management Service in accordance with the rules of the Office of Government Commerce.

Paul Goggins: The implementation of the National Offender Management Service will be overseen by the Chief Executive of the Service and by the National Offender Management Board, chaired by me as Minister for correctional services, with senior representatives from the Home Office, Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Treasury.

Parliamentary Questions

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the question from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford tabled on 2 February, reference 152929; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the time taken to respond to the hon. Member's letter of 27 August on behalf of his constituent Mrs. S. Hawkard.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 22 March 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26 March 2004. ana

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Computer Misuse

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many cases of computer misuse there were in his Department in (a) 1997 and (b) 2003, broken down by category of misuse; and how many of those cases resulted in disciplinary action.

Hilary Benn: There were no cases of computer misuse within DFID in either 1997 or 2003, which were sufficiently serious as to warrant recording locally or in NISCC (UNIRAS) or to lead to disciplinary action.

Departmental Scientific Adviser

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has a chief scientific adviser.

Hilary Benn: In view of the wide range of disciplines required for the tasks of the Department, DFID does not have a single Chief Scientific Adviser. Rather, the Head of Research maintains the liaison function with the Office of Science and Technology, drawing, as appropriate, upon the expertise and perspectives of the various advisory groups in the Department.
	DFID is currently reviewing whether these arrangements need to be modified in any way to ensure that its research, policy and country programs continue to make effective use of up to date and relevant scientific knowledge.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what part his Department played in discussions within the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq leading to changes to Iraq's banking legislation; and for what reasons no provision was made for credit unions.

Hilary Benn: While not directly involved in these discussions, DFID and other Government Departments were aware of the content of the legislation as it was being drafted, and a Bank of England Secondee to the CPA was involved in the drafting process. The main reason for introducing the new banking legislation was to allow for the establishment of a modern banking sector in Iraq as quickly as possible. The legislation is accordingly focused on this basic requirement.
	It will be for future Iraqi Governments to decide on the detailed features of their financial system, including provision for credit unions.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what work (a) his Department, (b) the Coalition Provisional Authority and (c) non-governmental organisations are undertaking in Iraq to (i) build confidence in the banking system and (ii) ensure that women have equal access to (a) banks and (b) other financial services.

Hilary Benn: Building confidence in the banking system in Iraq will take time, and will depend to a considerable extent on the quality of the legal and institutional framework in which the banking system operates. The newly introduced banking legislation in Iraq is intended to provide the basic framework in which an effective banking sector can develop and gain the confidence of the Iraqi people.
	Increasing women's participation in banking and other financial services is being addressed as part of wider efforts to enhance women's participation in political and economic activity generally.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what efforts (a) his Department and (b) the Coalition Provisional Authority are taking to ensure that the judicial system in Iraq offers equal justice for women.

Hilary Benn: DFID is funding a programme of Justice Sector Support, which is delivering training on international human rights law to 988 members of Iraq's judiciary, prosecution service and Bar Association. This includes training on women's rights. Through support to the Judicial Training Institute and the Iraqi Bar Association, the programme will also promote the professional role of women in the justice system. This is an important start to addressing women's access to justice.
	The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) has been monitoring the potential impact of new legislation on women's access to justice. The UK has been a strong advocate of women's rights in Iraq. This is a priority in DFID's interim Country Assistance Plan for Iraq, copies of which are in the Libraries of both Houses.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) resources and (b) financial support the (i) Coalition Provisional Authority and (ii) UK Government are offering to develop the Iraqi judicial system.

Hilary Benn: Coalition Provisional Authority assistance to the Iraqi justice sector includes a team which is providing advice and support to the Ministry of Justice. The team also provides access to resources for the repair, reconstruction and security of Court premises and prison facilities, and the identification and training of judicial and prosecutorial personnel. The CPA also provides advisers to an Office of Human Rights and Transitional Justice. Assistance focuses on forensic assessment and exhumation, training for local capacity building, control of standards and missing persons. The CPA is providing over $99 million project support to the Iraqi justice sector.
	DFID has recently agreed justice sector support totalling £2.1 million over two years. The programme aims to strengthen the independence, integrity and professionalism of the Iraqi judiciary, prosecution service and Bar Association and includes training on human rights law, ethics and standards. Additionally, the justice sector is one of the areas identified for support through the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq, to which DFID is making an initial contribution of £70 million.
	The UK Government have also seconded one adviser to the CPA team advising the Ministry of Justice, another to advise CPA South, six advisers to the team working on Transitional Justice and Human Rights, and three prison rehabilitation and reform advisers.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Medical Instruments (Abortion)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the top 10 companies in the UK who make medical instruments used in abortions in order of percentage of market share in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; and which of these companies are based in Essex.

Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not held centrally.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will implement the recommendations of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management on the long-term management and disposal of radioactive waste.

Stephen Timms: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) must have particular regard to relevant Government policy in carrying out its functions, including Government policy on the long-term management of radioactive waste. The Government will decide the policy for the long-term management of higher-level radioactive wastes, taking into account recommendations made to them by the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM).

Post Office

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will instruct Post Office Ltd. to publish a profile of the select teams of personnel involved in walking between each sub-post office that was proposed for closure in the West Derbyshire area plan and the named alternative branch, indicating how many of the personnel were (a) wheelchair users, (b) physically disabled, (c) aged between 65 to 75 years, (d) aged between 75 to 85 years, (e) aged over 90 years and (f) wheeling pushchairs and accompanied by young children.

Stephen Timms: No. Post Office Ltd. personnel involved in drawing up closure proposals under the urban reinvention programme undertake a detailed on the ground study assessment of the accessibility of the alternative offices identified as the main receiving branches and their facilities for the disabled. This assessment includes the nature of the terrain between the branches, the distance of the journey on foot, including how busy the roads are, where there are pedestrian crossings, traffic lights or underpasses where these need to be crossed. Access by public transport, predominantly by bus, is also checked giving route numbers and distance of stops from the closing and receiving branches. Availability of parking is also checked. All five offices in West Derbyshire proposed for closure have an alternative office within 0.5–1 mile accessible by bus.

Post Office

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of (a) businesses and (b) addresses in each postcode district (i) received postal deliveries before 9 a.m. Mondays to Fridays in (A) 1997 and (B) 2003 and (ii) are expected to receive such deliveries in 2005.

Stephen Timms: Conditions on the delivery of mail are a licensing matter for the regulator, Postcomm. The Postal Services Act 2000, and the License granted by Postcomm under it, requires Royal Mail to make one daily delivery to every household in the United Kingdom. It does not specify the time at which this has to be made, and consequently data on delivery percentages at particular times of the day are not available. Postcomm understands from Royal Mail that the reasons for the change to a single delivery were to improve efficiency and to maintain quality of service. Royal Mail believes that addresses on rural and dedicated business delivery routes are in any case highly unlikely to be affected by the move to a single daily delivery.

Small Business

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the small business support schemes funded by her Department open to new business.

Nigel Griffiths: The small business support schemes currently available are:
	Small Firms Loan Guarantee
	Grant for Research and Development
	Grant for Investigating an Innovative Idea
	Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
	In addition, the following five schemes will be available from April:
	Knowledge Transfer Networks
	Collaborative R&D
	Access to best business practice
	Support to implement best business practice
	Selective finance for investment in England

Small Business

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action her Department has taken to improve access to finance for small businesses; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: The DTI has taken a number of steps to improve SME's ability to access investment capital. These include the Regional Venture Capital Funds, UK High Technology Fund, The Community Development Venture Fund (known as the Bridges Fund), Community Investment Tax Relief, Investment Readiness Pilots and Early Growth Funds. We are currently also developing the Enterprise Capital Funds as announced in the 2003 pre-Budget report.
	Following our review of business support the Department has built on the success of the Smart scheme and replaced it with two new products, Grant for Research and Development and Grant for Investigating an Innovative Idea. The grants available under the new products are potentially bigger than under Smart. During the last two years the number of individuals and small businesses supported annually through Smart and the new products has increased by almost 50 per cent. In addition, the Department has also built upon the success of the Small Firms Loan Guarantee scheme by raising the amount available to manufacturing businesses and extending the scheme to new sectors such as child care and nursery education.
	Recently, the Government have taken action to support small business via a wide range of initiatives, as outlined in "The Government Action Plan for Small Business", published on 8 January and available on the Small Business Service Website (www.sbs.gov.uk). It provides a comprehensive account of the significant Government help being made available to small businesses.

Wind Farms

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the economic viability of electricity generated from wind farms.

Stephen Timms: Modelling carried out to support the recent Innovation Review shows the current cost of onshore wind generation as 3.1–4 p/kWh expected to fall to W2.5–3.2 p/kWh by 2020 and offshore wind generation as 6.0–7.6 p/kWh expected to fall to W3.0–4.6 p/kWh by 2020.
	These costs are indicative and subject to variation as the economics of electricity generated from both onshore and offshore wind farms are dependent on the amount of wind at the wind farm site. Electricity generated by onshore and offshore wind farms is eligible for support under the Renewables Obligation.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Council Tax Receipts (Greater London)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the level of council tax receipts collected in Greater London was in each year since 1997, broken down by borough, and what the forecast figures are for the next year.

Nick Raynsford: Tabled are the amounts of council tax collected in each London borough and the City of London, irrespective of the financial year to which they relate, in each year from 1996–97 to 2002–03.
	Figures for the amounts of council tax received are not requested from local authorities until after the end of the relevant financial year. The amounts received during 2003–04 and future years will depend upon the council tax levels set for each year, changes in the tax base, the collection rates achieved, amounts of council tax benefit expenditure incurred, and amounts collected in respect of earlier years.
	
		Amounts of council tax collected(1) -- £000
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Inner London
			 City of London 1,417 1,571 1,830 2,091 2,280 2,551 2,644 
			 Camden 43,630 50,506 58,740 60,660 60,840 65,780 69,600 
			 Greenwich 36,751 42,630 46,802 48,267 50,108 52,074 56,861 
			 Hackney 23,071 26,801 26,618 27,787 29,625 36,716 44,568 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 35,882 44,846 47,912 50,515 53,881 57,654 58,743 
			 Islington 31,335 38,133 40,736 43,349 43,783 45,786 46,640 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 37,334 42,781 45,354 49,832 49,102 55,316 64,412 
			 Lambeth 31,924 41,908 42,931 46,740 46,401 58,396 65,919 
			 Lewisham 32,537 41,976 43,267 46,284 52,070 57,426 62,481 
			 Southwark 34,584 38,100 43,211 45,193 52,919 55,892 61,468 
			 Tower Hamlets 18,419 21,742 23,978 27,478 31,839 34,662 38,699 
			 Wandsworth 35,719 38,825 30,242 36,648 40,158 46,130 41,475 
			 Westminster 25,260 28,980 31,866 34,074 36,137 41,036 44,996 
			 Total Inner London 387,863 458,799 483,487 518,918 549,143 609,419 658,506 
			 
			 Outer London
			 Barking and Dagenham 19,475 22,858 25,951 27,766 30,060 32,712 34,808 
			 Barnet 68,042 75,680 83,756 87,787 97,072 103,031 108,870 
			 Bexley 40,037 44,750 49,845 55,312 58,926 64,237 69,686 
			 Brent 27,051 38,836 41,902 48,516 52,570 55,255 60,805 
			 Bromley 60,924 68,076 71,584 78,385 86,353 97,867 105,146 
			 Croydon 57,745 64,627 73,295 83,487 84,302 90,750 92,588 
			 Ealing 45,009 53,922 60,563 66,164 70,814 77,710 84,178 
			 Enfield 46,958 53,461 57,529 63,150 67,115 75,117 82,041 
			 Haringey 35,330 43,165 46,422 49,023 52,552 55,531 59,516 
			 Harrow 39,659 46,560 51,503 55,675 60,842 67,748 72,747 
			 Havering 42,674 49,577 54,880 59,243 66,473 72,568 79,367 
			 Hillingdon 43,968 49,477 55,678 61,194 67,696 74,588 81,231 
			 Hounslow 39,162 44,479 47,402 52,496 58,158 64,650 69,485 
			 Kingston upon Thames 30,454 33,410 36,394 42,231 47,128 52,594 58,606 
			 Merton 37,134 42,613 46,781 49,435 54,335 60,845 65,371 
			 Newham 20,040 24,894 26,810 30,400 33,735 38,069 41,568 
			 Redbridge 39,582 45,190 49,297 55,261 59,162 64,173 69,449 
			 Richmond upon Thames 51,112 56,319 57,691 64,420 70,465 77,674 85,077 
			 Sutton 35,534 39,166 43,716 47,441 50,690 55,524 61,623 
			 Waltham Forest 36,215 44,685 44,065 46,192 49,544 53,829 57,988 
			 Total Outer London 816,105 941,745 1,025,064 1,123,578 1,217,992 1,334,472 1,440,150 
			 Total Greater London 1,203,968 1,400,544 1,508,551 1,642,496 1,767,135 1,943,891 2,098,656 
		
	
	(1) Irrespective of the financial year to which it relates.

Green Belt House Building

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of new house building in the South East he estimates will be on Green Belt land up to 2020; and if he will make it his policy to prevent all new house building on Green Belt in the South East up to 2020.

Keith Hill: Government policy on Green Belts is set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 (PPG2). It remains the policy to protect Green Belts as far as can be seen ahead and boundaries must be altered only exceptionally. Decisions on the need to alter boundaries in order to accommodate development are for regional planning bodies and local planning authorities in the first instance. Any proposals for changes should be brought forward through the regional and local planning process in order to ensure that they are subject to public consultation and scrutiny.
	It is not be possible to estimate what proportion of development in the South East will be on Green Belt land up to 2020 until new regional spatial strategies (RSS) for the East of England and the South East are issued, probably in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

Housing Requirement

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to meet the Office for National Statistics prediction of a need for 56 million homes in the United Kingdom by 2021.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was not able to identify the source of the reference to '56 million homes'. The latest population projections by Government Actuary's Department show the UK population rising from 59 million in 2002 to 63 million in 2021. It is, however, the number of households that relates to homes. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's 1996 based household projections for England show household numbers rising to 24 million in 2021 an increase of 3 million households from 2001.
	The Sustainable Communities Plan, published in February 2003, set out a programme of action on how to ensure a better balance between housing supply and demand across the regions.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is addressing the housing shortage in areas of high demand, especially in London and the wider South East, through a step change in housing supply.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is working with local authorities and other stakeholders to ensure that existing planned levels of housing provision are delivered—this means an additional 930,000 homes by 2016.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is also progressing delivery of the Growth Areas—which, along with London, have the capacity to deliver 200,000 additional homes above current planning targets by 2016.
	The latest revisions to Regional Planning Guidance now underway are looking further—to 2021. Policy options will take into account the Barker Review's finding that current levels of housing supply are not sufficient. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister agrees that to deliver our commitment to stability and affordability in the housing market a significant increase in development over time is needed. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister needs to consider the scale of such development and how it can be delivered both in high demand areas and in areas suffering problems of low demand. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also need to balance the economic case for increased development against its social and environmental implications. The need to reflect all these issues in our policies, in order to avoid the mistakes of the past, underpins our commitment to deliver, not just more housing, but sustainable communities that people want to live in.

EU Structural Funds

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much local authority funding in the (a) North West, (b) North East and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber for the 2000 to 2006 period has been used for matched funding.

Nick Raynsford: As regards European regional funding, this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. While the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister holds details of public sector contributions to European Regional Development Fund programmes, this is not broken down into individual categories, such as local authorities.
	The public sector match funding contributions to the 2000–06 Objective 1 and 2 programmes in the North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber, from 2000 until 24 March 2004 are as follows.
	
		
			 Region and programme Total spend (ERDF plus match funding) (£) Public sector match funding (£) Public sector as percentage of total 
		
		
			 North West
			 Merseyside Objective 1 334,357,790 137,238,950 41 
			 North West Objective 2 401,255,420 189,157,370 47 
			 
			 North East
			 North East Objective 2 345,981,850 162,709,330 47 
			 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber   
			 South Yorks Objective 1 258,080,290 56,745,723 22 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Objective 2 179,197,960 88,698,149 49 
		
	
	Note:
	Exchange rate used £1 = Euros1.54.

Mobile Phone Masts

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what monitoring his Department undertakes of the extent to which mobile phone companies share masts.

Keith Hill: The Mobile Operators' Association send statistics relating to site sharing to the Planning Minister every quarter.

Regional Funding

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1712W, on regional assemblies/government, if he will list the funding for the year 2002–03 from each central Government Department to (a) the Government offices for and (b) the non-departmental public bodies operating in the regions of (i) the North West, (ii) the North East and (iii) Yorkshire and the Humber.

Nick Raynsford: The information requested is as follows.
	(a) The funding for the year 2002–03 from each central Government Department to the three Government Offices was as follows:
	
		
			 Government Office DTLR DTI DfES Defra HO DCMS DoH Total 
		
		
			 North East 4,472 2,671 2,043 323 592 63 58 10,222 
			 North West 7,367 3,953 2,848 628 794 63 117 15,770 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4,985 2,571 2,340 564 692 63 62 11,278 
		
	
	Note:
	All figures are in £000. DTLR became the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department for Transport during the year in question and so for the purposes of this table, it is assumed that DTLR was in existence for the whole year.
	(b) Information on the funding allocated by each central Government Department to non-departmental public bodies operating in each region is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In terms of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's non-departmental public bodies, only two, English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation, allocate their funding on a regional basis.
	English Partnerships' Departmental Expenditure Limit utilisation for 2002–03 for the three regions was as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 North East 14.5 
			 North West 28.5 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 16.0 
		
	
	Programme funding provided by the Housing Corporation to registered social landlords operating in the region in 2002–03 was as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 North East 23.7 
			 North West 95.6 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 56.2

Telecommunications Transmissions

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance is given to local planning authorities on the protection of wildlife and domestic animals from the adverse effects of telecommunications transmissions; and what his policy is on where the responsibility lies for the protection of wildlife from such transmissions.

Keith Hill: The Government's statutory adviser, the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), has published guidelines on limiting exposure to electromagnetic radiation for the protection of human health. Following the recommendation made in the Stewart Report on Mobile Phones and Health in 2000 the Government adopted the international guidelines on public exposure set by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) as a precautionary measure to limit electromagnetic radiation exposure from mobile phone base stations.
	There is no separate advice for local planning authorities or policy on the exposure of wildlife and domestic animals to electromagnetic radiation.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

BACS

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress her Department has made to manage the changeover from the Bank Automated Clearing System to the new BACSTEL-IP system for electronic payments.

Richard Caborn: The Department's Payments and Receipts Contractor has obtained costs for the new hardware and software required for the upgrade, and made plans for the migration to BACSTEL-IP. The contractor's various sponsoring banks, who will drive the migration timetable, have stated that they are in the process of drawing up a timetable for the migration of all their customers.

Film Industry

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to secure the financial future of the British Federation of Film Societies;
	(2)  what representations she has received from film societies concerning their funding from the UK Film Council;
	(3)  what steps she is taking to ensure that the British Film Institute actively supports the work of the British Federation of Film Societies and its constituent members;
	(4)  what discussions she has had with (a) the British Film Institute and (b) the British Federation of Film Societies concerning the Annual Films Viewing Weekend and its continuation on a financial basis that supports local film societies.

Estelle Morris: The UK Film Council, the Government's strategic adviser for film, has recently completed an extensive consultation on its funding and policy priorities for April 2004 to March 2007. The consultation document "Three Years On" proposes that the UK Film Council should continue to fund the British Federation of Film Societies (BFFS) at £100,000 per annum until 2006–07. This funding would form part of the council's substantial budget for its Distribution and Exhibition fund, which aims to promote accessibility to film across the country. This proposal is supported by the British Film Institute. The BFFS would be required to demonstrate the impact of its work in developing the diversity and range of cinema distribution and appreciation. Beyond continuation of funding, the UK Film Council has outlined plans for a fund for digital equipment for film societies, of direct benefit to constituent members of the BFFS.
	The DCMS has received no representations from film societies within the last year, concerning funding from the UK Film Council. The UK Film Council has received one letter from BFFS, and will shortly meet the BFFS to discuss the issues raised.
	Support for film societies, and thus the BFFS, has been a key consideration in the recent BFI Strategic Review, and is being addressed as part of broader plans to improve access to resources and collections. Stakeholders including the BFFS have been extensively consulted during this process, and the BFI is firmly committed to working more strategically with national bodies such as the BFFS in their advocacy of specialised film culture.
	The UK Film Council and BFI will provide ongoing financial support for the Annual Films Viewing Weekend via a heavily subsidised rate for the use of the National Film Theatre (NFT), the event's venue. DCMS has not been involved in the discussions.

Department-Sponsored Activities

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding has been allocated to (a) Creative Partnerships, (b) Space for Sport and Arts, (c) Sports Action Zones and (d) Youth Music Action Zones in (i) 2004–05, (ii) 2005–06 and (iii) total.

Estelle Morris: The information is as follows:
	(a) Creative Partnerships has been allocated: (i) £25 million in 2004–05; (ii) £45 million in 2005–06; and (iii) a total of £110 million over four years from 2002–06.
	(b) Space for Sport and Arts has been allocated total funding of £134 million over the period 2000–05. £128.4 million has been awarded to date.
	(c) Sport Action Zones have been allocated: (i) £1.9 million in 2004–05; (ii) £1 million in 2005–06; amounting to a total of (iii) £2.9 million over the two years.
	(d) Youth Music Action Zones will receive: (i) £1.58 million in 2004–05; (ii) the allocation for 2005–06 has not yet been finalised; (iii) Youth Music have made available a total of £15 million to support Action Zones in England over the period 2002–06.

Departmental Buildings

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) renovation and (b) maintenance projects on buildings (i) owned and (ii) rented by her Department were undertaken in each of the last five years; and what the associated costs were of each.

Richard Caborn: DCMS does not occupy any freehold buildings. During the financial year 2000–01 works to a value of £1.5 million were undertaken to link two adjoining buildings and reconfigure accommodation for greater operational efficiency and modernisation of facilities. In 2002 exterior stone cleaning was performed on the main buildings at a cost of £120,000 in compliance with the lease. In 2003 one previously vacant floor of a satellite building was refurbished, at a cost of £46,000 in order to facilitate and accommodate restructuring of part of the Department. In the same year two obsolete fire warning and alarm systems were replaced at a cost of £153,000.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

EU/Israel Trade

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with his European Union counterparts the suspension of the EU/Israel trade agreements.

Denis MacShane: The Government do not intend to raise the suspension of the EU/Israel Association Agreement in upcoming discussions with EU counterparts. The Government believe that, as a friend of Israel and the Palestinians, close engagement provides us with the greatest chance of encouraging both sides to take the necessary steps. We do not believe that suspension of the EU/Israel Association Agreement would bring the parties any nearer to a peaceful resolution.

General Affairs and External Relations Council

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of the General Affairs and External Relations Council held on 22 March; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The information is as follows.
	Outcome of the 22 March 2004 General Affairs and External Relations Council
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) in Brussels on 22 March 2004.
	Conclusions were agreed on the strategic partnership for the Middle East, the assassination of Sheikh Yassin, Iran, Western Balkans, UN Commission on Human Rights, Afghanistan, EU military rapid response, EU ACP partnership—water facility, and protection of EU seafarers in third countries—The Tasman Spirit.
	General Affairs Session
	Progress of work in other Council configurations
	The Council took note of a progress report from the Presidency on work under way in the Council's other configurations (Economic and Financial Affairs; Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs; Competitiveness; Environment; and Education, Youth and Culture).
	Preparation for the spring European Council
	The GAERC finalised an annotated draft agenda and draft conclusions prepared by the Presidency for the 25–26 March European Council in Brussels.
	The European Council will examine a package of measures presented by the Presidency with the aim of giving a renewed impulse to efforts to combat terrorism following the 11 March terrorist attacks in Madrid. It will review the international situation and assess the prospects for progress in the Intergovernmental Conference on the draft EU Constitutional Treaty. The European Council is also expected to agree on the procedure to be followed for preparation of the EU's financial perspective for 2007–13 and (as is customary at spring councils) it will pursue work on the structural reform strategy that it laid down at Lisbon in March 2000.
	Combating terrorism
	The GAERC examined a package of measures (prepared by a 19 March Justice and Home Affairs Council) aimed at giving a renewed impulse to efforts to combat terrorism following the 11 March terrorist attacks in Madrid. The GAERC agreed to forward the measures to the European Council for approval. External relations session
	Western Balkans
	The Council discussed Kosovo following recent events in the region and adopted Conclusions calling for an immediate and definitive end to the violence and condemning all acts of ethnically motivated violence. There were also Conclusions on Serbia and Montenegro, where the Council expressed readiness to co-operate with the newly formed Government but made clear that further progress towards European Integration is contingent on concrete action to implement political arid economic reforms. And there were short Conclusions on Macedonia's presentation of its application to join the EU.
	ASEM
	The Council took stock of preparations for the 17–18 April Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers Meeting (ASEM) at Kildare. It examined how to approach the issue of Burma's request to participate at the fifth ASEM summit at Hanoi on 8–9 October. The Presidency will continue consultations in order to find a solution on this issue.
	Strategic Partnership with the Mediterranean and the Middle East
	The Council welcomed the Presidency's interim report on the Strategic Partnership with the Mediterranean and the Middle East and looked forward to the June European Council when it will be able to consider the final article.
	Short conclusions condemning the killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin were also adopted.
	Iran
	Conclusions were adopted on the Iranian nuclear programme in light of the 8–13 March meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors. The Conclusions called on Iran to comply fully with the provisions set out in 13 March Board of Governors' resolution and welcomed Iran's decision to extend the scope of its suspension of enrichment-related and reprocessing activities.
	AOB: Russia
	The Council had a brief discussion on the extension of the EU-Russia Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA) to the new EU member states. The GAERC noted that contacts were ongoing to ensure that the extension was in place by 1 May.

Land Mines

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps his Department has taken to promote the Convention on the Prohibition on the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines.

Bill Rammell: We are committed to promoting the Convention in the lead up to its first Review Conference in Nairobi at the end of this year. Following a comprehensive lobbying campaign of those states not party to the Convention in 2003, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials will be actively participating in several regional seminars and workshops aimed at promoting the Convention and increasing the number of States Parties. They include events in Vienna, Tokyo and Vilnius.
	We also participate in the informal intersessional meetings of the Convention and are members of both the Universalisation and Mobilisation Contact Groups. A UK official is Chair of the Sponsorship Programme in Geneva, which is vital in facilitating the attendance of heavily mine-affected countries to these meetings.
	In addition to mine action funding provided by the Department for International Development, we have provided donations to the Convention's International Support Unit based in Geneva and to Landmine Monitor, an annual international publication produced by the International Campaign To Ban Landmines.

Land Mines

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with countries which are not signatories to the Ottawa Convention about their signing up to the Convention.

Bill Rammell: The Government considers that the best way of combating the production, use, stockpiling or transfer of anti-personnel landmines is to persuade as many countries as possible to sign the Ottawa Convention. The United Kingdom was among the first states to ratify the Convention and we continue to urge others to do the same. During 2003 we undertook, through our diplomatic missions, a comprehensive lobbying exercise of those states not party to the Convention, urging their ratification or accession at the earliest opportunity. This exercise was part of our activities in the Ottawa Convention's Universalisation Contact Group. We have built on this exercise in 2004 with a more targeted approach and hope to use the various regional events being held in the run up to the Nairobi Review Conference to encourage non-States Parties to sign the Convention.

Council of Europe

David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's assessment is of progress made by the Russian Federation in meeting the commitments and obligations it entered into upon accession to the Council of Europe; what his Department's assessment is of areas on which further progress should be made; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The latest Council of Europe (CoE) Resolution on Russian implementation (1277 of 23 April 2002) acknowledges that progress has been made in many areas, for example, judicial reform, the transfer of pre-trial detention centres to the Ministry of Justice and adoption of the Law on the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights. Progress in other spheres such as the moratorium on the use of the death penalty is welcome, but it remains to be abolished formally and implementation is thus incomplete. The situation has however deteriorated in some areas. In particular, in the level of media freedom and the effect of the State controlled media on the conduct of free and fair elections. I refer the hon. Member to the declaration published by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the Presidential elections in Russia on 17 March 2004.
	We also remain seriously concerned over the situation in Chechnya. The prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations remains limited to a few key cases, while the majority of reported abuses go uninvestigated. There continue to be reports of widespread human rights abuses, including rising numbers of 'disappearances', by federal forces and local militias in Chechnya.
	Most legal instruments pertaining to the accession of Russia to the CoE have been signed and ratified. However, Protocol 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights, and The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages have been signed but not ratified. Furthermore, The European Social Charter and The Convention on Transfer of Sentenced Persons have not yet been signed.
	We continue to support the CoE in remaining engaged with Russia and to encourage Russia to implement its commitments.

PRIME MINISTER

Environmental Matters

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister on what date he next intends to give a speech on environmental matters.

Tony Blair: I regularly give speeches on a wide range of domestic and international issues, which cover environmental issues. My forthcoming speaking engagements are announced at the appropriate time.

Mr. Kenneth Norden

Bob Spink: To ask the Prime Minister if he will meet Mr. Kenneth Norden to discuss the loss of his final salary pension scheme.

Tony Blair: I have asked my hon. Friend the Minister for Pensions to meet the hon. Gentleman's constituent about this matter on my behalf.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister how many, and what percentage of Written Parliamentary Questions tabled to him in 2003 he answered by reference to an earlier Parliamentary Answer.

Tony Blair: This information is not held in the format requested. However, it is a matter of public record and can be found in the Official Report.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Environmentally Sustainable Procurement

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what ways environmentally sustainable procurement strategies within the Department have driven innovation in the design and supply of products.

Maria Eagle: In September 2003, a report signalled how recommendations from the inter-departmental Sustainable Procurement Group (SPG) would be taken forward. Following this DWP introduced revised policy guidance that made it official departmental policy to purchase sustainable goods and services wherever possible.
	Guidance is currently being revised to include comprehensive assistance for the Department's procurement officials to achieve this objective. Additionally governance controls for Departmental projects and programmes, which can include major procurement exercises, require that sustainability issues are considered within business cases.
	We are now working to include sustainability within several major contracts that are shortly to be renewed as well as reviewing existing contracts for their sustainability impacts. Further work on sustainable procurement and innovation is in hand but it is too early to assess what impact these provisions have had on innovation in the design and supply of products. Information on progress in this area will be included within the annual DWP Sustainable Development Report, which is published in the autumn.

European Year of Disabled People

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what funding his Department granted to the European Year of Disabled People National Co-ordinating Chamber in each year since 2002;
	(2)  what plans the European Year of Disabled People National Co-ordinating Chamber has made for its employees in 2004; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many people are employed by the European Year of Disabled People National Co-ordinating Chamber.

Maria Eagle: The UK National Co-ordinating Committee was established in January 2002 to develop, agree, implement, and oversee a programme of activity for the European Year of Disabled People 2003. It has been responsible for making recommendations to Ministers on the use of the £2.5 million allocated in 2002 by the Department for Work and Pensions and the European Commission to support EYDP activities. It comprises 16 representatives of key national disability organisations and organisations in the public and private sectors. It has met regularly since January 2002 and will be disbanded on 30 June 2004 when the EYDP officially comes to an end. It has no employees. Secretariat services have been provided by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Executive Agency Staff

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many full-time equivalent jobs there were in his Department and its executive agencies, and prior to 2001 with the Department of Social Security and its agencies, and those agencies which transferred to his Department in 2001, in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: Information is not available on the number of full time equivalent jobs in the Department for Work and Pensions as the numbers of historical vacancies at any given time is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of full time equivalent permanent and temporary staff employed in the Department for Work and Pensions, and the relevant predecessor organisations, for each year since 1997 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Department of Social Security The Employment Service Total Department for Work and Pensions 
		
		
			 31 March 1997 98,194 31,550 129,744 — 
			 31 March 1998 93,635 30,796 124,431 — 
			 31 March 1999 95,048 32,675 127,723 — 
			 31 March 2000 87,261 32,620 119,881 — 
			 31 March 2001 85,423 34,110 119,531 — 
			 31 March 2002 — — — 126,906 
			 31 March 2003 — — — 130,007 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are on a whole time equivalent (rounded) and include temporary staff.
	2. Figures are point in time at the dates quoted.
	3. Figures are consistent with Cabinet Office definitions other than that staff on paid maternity leave are included in the figures above.
	4. The reduction in the Department of Social Security staffing in 1999–2000 takes account of the transfer of the Contributions Agency and Working Families Tax Credits to the Inland Revenue.
	5. The reduction in staffing in 2000–01 takes account of the outsourcing of the Information Technology Services Agency.

Jobcentre Plus (Staff with Disabilities)

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) male and (b) female advisers working for Jobcentre Plus in (i) 2002 and (ii) 2003 had a disability, broken down by disability type.

Maria Eagle: Information on numbers of staff in the Department for Work and Pensions is not held by job type.

Pension Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to publish in advance a schedule of publication dates for pension credit monthly progress reports; and if he will make a statement on the method of release of these reports to hon.Members.

Malcolm Wicks: We have so far published progress reports on a monthly basis, starting on 14 October 2003. Publication dates for future reports have not yet been agreed. The precise timing, frequency and format of the reports to Parliament will be reviewed in the context of Agency Business Plans for the next operational year. The method of release of reports has been to place them in the House of Commons Library and to make copies available for hon. Members in the Vote Office. More detailed information is also frequently provided to hon. Members in reply to written and oral Questions.

Pension Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 17 March 2004, Official Report, columns 317–8W, on pension credit, if he will break down the changes of circumstances reported by customers by (a) category of change and (b) age group of claimant.

Malcolm Wicks: It is not possible to break the information down in the way requested.

Pensions

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of (a) women and (b) men are members of private (i) occupational and (ii) personal pension schemes, broken down by ethnic group.

Malcolm Wicks: The breakdown of those of working age contributing to a private pension by ethnic grouping is given in the table.
	
		Membership of private pension schemes by gender within ethnic group category
		
			  Occupational Personal 
			 Ethnic group Male Female All Male Female All 
		
		
			 White 35 33 34 17 9 13 
			 Mixed 30 24 26- 11 9 10 
			 Indian 28 23 26 12 7 10 
			 Pakistani and Bangladeshi 9 8 9 4 1 2 
			 Any other Asian/Asian British background 17 22 19 8 6 7 
			 Black or Black British 25 28 27 5 4 5 
			 Total 34 32 33 16 8 12 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All figures are estimates derived from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) 2002–03, the latest year for which data are available. The coverage of the survey is the UK.
	2. Percentages are based on relevant ethnic group respondent population from the Family Resources Survey. Some estimates are based on small sample numbers.
	3. Membership relates to those who are currently contributing to a private pension scheme or whose employer is currently contributing.
	4. Stakeholder pensions are included as personal pensions.
	5. Working age is ages 20–59 for women and 20–64 for men.
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey 2002–03.

Civil Service

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consultation he has conducted with (a) staff, (b) unions, (c) management and (d) senior management within his Department on planned redundancies and redeployment of staff over the next four years; whether he plans to have further discussions with these groups on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote, jointly with the Permanent Head of the Department, to all staff and managers immediately following the Budget announcement to explain the context and rationale for the decision to reduce staff numbers.
	Shortly after the announcement he met with the General Secretary and other officials of Public and Commercial Services Union.
	Officials in the Department meet regularly with the trade unions to discuss workforce management issues and these meetings will continue as detailed plans are now developed.

Winter Fuel Allowance

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many senior citizens in (a) Greater London and (b) each Greater London borough are eligible for the winter fuel allowance; and what this represents as a percentage of the total number of senior citizens.

Malcolm Wicks: The number of people in Greater London and each Greater London Local Authority who have received a winter fuel payment so far is in the table. We are not able to say how many people were ineligible for this winter's payment.
	
		
			 Region/Local authority Payments made in 2003–04 
		
		
			 Greater London 1,071,295 
			 Camden 25,470 
			 City of London 1,055 
			 Hackney 21,505 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 19,470 
			 Haringey 26,670 
			 Islington 22,090 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 18,670 
			 Lambeth 29,575 
			 Lewisham 33,720 
			 Newham 26,460 
			 Southwark 28,650 
			 Tower Hamlets 21,625 
			 Wandsworth 32,950 
			 Westminster 25,560 
			 Barking and Dagenham 26,685 
			 Barnet 52,875 
			 Bexley 43,560 
			 Brent 36,540 
			 Bromley 61,385 
			 Croydon 52,860 
			 Ealing 42,350 
			 Enfield 45,810 
			 Greenwich 32,475 
			 Harrow 37,215 
			 Havering 49,070 
			 Hillingdon 41,710 
			 Hounslow 31,090 
			 Kingston upon Thames 23,650 
			 Merton 27,945 
			 Redbridge 39,905 
			 Richmond upon Thames 28,780 
			 Sutton 32,145 
			 Waltham Forest 31,770 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 5.
	2. Please note that these figures for 2003–04 refer only to the main payment run i.e. they do not include the late payment run figures. We estimate that there are approximately 100,000 people in Great Britain paid via late payment runs (0.8 per cent. of all payments). However, since late payment runs are mainly in respect of non-system cases whose claim had not been received by Qualifying Week, they are heavily skewed towards men aged 60.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 100 samples

HEALTH

Agency Staff

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on agency fees by (a) North West London Strategic Health authority, (b) North West London Hospitals NHS Trust and (c) Brent Primary Care Trust in each year since 1997.

John Hutton: The national health service does not separately record the cost of employing agency staff. The figures in the tables include total cost to the NHS of staff not directly employed by NHS bodies.
	The tables show total non-NHS staff expenditure for NHS trusts, health authorities and a primary care trust in the North West London area.
	
		Total non-NHS Staff Expenditure by (a) North West London Strategic Health Authority, (b) North West London Hospitals NHS Trust and (c) Brent Primary Care Trust—1997–98 to 2002–03
		
			   £ 
		
		
			  1997–98 
			 (a) Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster HA 59,189 
			  Brent and Harrow HA 128,656 
			  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow HA 47,551 
			  Hillingdon HA 446,660 
			  Total 682,056 
			 (b) Central Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust 1,573,846 
			  Northwick Park and St. Mark's NHS Trust 2,209,415 
			  Total 3,783,261 
			   
			  1998–99 
			 (a) Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster HA 138,150 
			  Brent and Harrow HA 152,240 
			  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow HA 61,404 
			  Hillingdon HA 396,346 
			  Total 748,140 
			 (b) Central Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust 2,043,735 
			  Northwick Park and St. Mark's NHS Trust 2,722,176 
			  Total 4,765,911 
			   
			  1999–2000 
			 (a) Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster HA 403,448 
			  Brent and Harrow HA 175,878 
			  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow HA 155,052 
			  Hillingdon HA 1,724,175 
			  Total 2,458,553 
			 (b) North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 7,376,634 
			 2000–01 
			 (a) Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster HA 681,745 
			  Brent and Harrow HA 222,065 
			  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow HA 224,825 
			  Hillingdon HA 2,335,535 
			  Total 3,464,170 
			 (b) North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 7,634,467 
			   
			  2001–02 
			 (a) Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster HA 2,201,121 
			  Brent and Harrow HA 334,538 
			  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow HA 294,446 
			  Hillingdon HA 11,101 
			  Total 2,841,206 
			 (b) North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 9,784,744 
			   
			  2002–031 
			 (a) North West London Strategic Health Authority 267,650 
			 (b) North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 11,674,257 
			 (c) Brent Teaching PCT 5,826,724 
		
	
	(2) All 2002–03 data are provisional.
	Notes:
	1. The North West London Strategic Health Authority was established in 2002–03. Prior to this, a combination of four health authorities (Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster HA, Brent and Harrow HA, Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow HA and Hillingdon HA) serviced the North West London area.
	2. In 1999–2000, the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust was established by the merger of two NHS Trusts (Central Middlesex Hospitals NHS Trust and Northwick Park and St. Mark's NHS Trust).
	3. Brent Teaching Primary Care Trust was established in 2002–03.
	Sources
	Annual financial returns of Health Authorities 1997–98 to 2001–02.
	Annual financial returns of NHS Trusts 1997–98 to 2002–03.
	Annual financial returns of Primary Care Trusts 2002–03.
	Annual financial returns of Strategic Health Authorities 2002–03.

Bedfordshire Health Authority

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which health body has the authority to remove a caution registered against residential property in respect of Bedfordshire Health Authority's interest in relation to a loan required to complete the original purchase of that property.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 1 March 2004
	The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority has the authority to have a caution removed from a property that it has an interest in.

Cancer Services

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of women in Crosby with suspected breast cancer saw a specialist within two weeks in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of suspected cancer patients in Crosby saw an NHS consultant within two weeks in each of the last seven years.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected on a constituency basis but by national health service trust. A copy has been placed in the Library. The information is also available at http://www.performance.doh.gov.uk/cancerwaits/index.html

"Choosing Health"

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the evidence on which the finding is based that premature death from (a) cancer has reduced by 10 per cent. and (b) coronary heart disease has reduced by 23 per cent. since 1997, as set out in the foreword to the consultation document Choosing Health.

Melanie Johnson: "Our Healthier Nation", the Government's overall health strategy for England, sets out targets to reduce the death rates from cancer by at least 20 per cent., and all circulatory diseases by at least 40 per cent., in people aged under 75 years by 2010. Progress in respect of these targets are measured against the baseline of the average of the three years 1995, 1996 and 1997.
	The targets are monitored using mortality statistics from death registrations provided by the Office for National Statistics. The mortality rates are subsequently calculated by the Department of Health. Mortality rates are age standardised to allow for changes in the age structure of the population (using the European standard population as defined by the World Health Organisation).
	The following tables show the three year average mortality rates for all cancers and all circulatory diseases since the baseline figure was established.
	
		All cancers (Malignant Neoplasms) (ICD10 C00-C97) -- Persons—aged under 75 years
		
			 England 3 year average mortality rate 
		
		
			 1995–96–97 (Baseline) 141.4 
			 1996–97–98 138.7 
			 1997–98–99 135.1 
			 1998–99–2000 132.3 
			 1999–2000–01 129.1 
			 2000–01–02 126.8 
			   
			 Percentage change in rate since baseline -10.3 
		
	
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics (European age standardised mortality rates per 100,000 population from death registrations, calculations by Department of Health).
	
		All circulatory diseases (ICD10 100–199) -- Persons—aged under 75 years
		
			 England 3 year average mortality rate 
		
		
			 1995–96–97 (Baseline) 141.5 
			 1996–97–98 135.7 
			 1997–98–99 128.7 
			 1998–99–2000 122.0 
			 1999–2000–01 114.8 
			 2000–01–02 108.5 
			   
			 Percentage change in rate since baseline -23.4 
		
	
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics (European age standardised mortality rates per 100,000 population from death registrations, calculations by Department of Health).

Coronary Angiograms

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of a coronary angiogram was in each NHS hospital trust in England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Free Health Care

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what checks are carried out by (a) general practitioners and (b) hospitals to establish that patients from abroad are entitled to health care free at the point of delivery.

John Hutton: General practices need to check details of an individual's residence or previous registration before deciding whether to accept the person as a registered patient, either on a permanent or temporary basis. This is set out in regulations and guidance. For hospital services, regulations require the national health service trust providing treatment to make
	"such enquiries as it is satisfied are reasonable in all the circumstances, including the state of health of the overseas visitor"
	to determine a patient's chargeable status. Guidance makes clear that all patients should be asked a baseline residency question, but it is for individual trusts to decide how far it is reasonable to go in following up on the response.

General Practitioners

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nurses and (b) general practitioners are in training in (i) each London borough, (ii) Greater London and (iii) England; and what the figures were in 1997.

John Hutton: The available information on the number of general practitioner registrars and student nursing populations is shown in the table. Student nursing population information by strategic health authority is only available for 2001–02 and from 1998–99 for the Greater London area.
	
		GP registrars and nursing course student populations by strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trust (PCT) for London and England
		
			   Headcount Whole-time equivalents 
			   GP Registrars(3) Student nurse population(4) 
			   1997 2003 1998–99 2001–02 
		
		
			 England  1,343 2,235 45,668 51,713 
			 Of which: 
			 London  208 348 9,081 12,200 
			 Of which: 
			 Q04 North West London SHA 45 58 n/a 2,672 
			 5AT Hillingdon PCT n/a 8 n/a n/a 
			 5H1 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT n/a 2 n/a n/a 
			 5HX Ealing PCT n/a 8 n/a n/a 
			 5HY Hounslow PCT n/a 4 n/a n/a 
			 5K5 Brent PCT n/a 17 n/a n/a 
			 5K6 5K6 Harrow PCT n/a 8  n/a 
			 5LA Kensington and Chelsea PCT n/a 10 n/a n/a 
			 5LC Westminster PCT n/a 1 n/a n/a 
			 QO5 North Central London SHA 44 74 n/a 2,803 
			 5A9 Barnet PCT n/a 15 n/a n/a 
			 5C1 Enfield PCT n/a 6 n/a n/a 
			 5C9 Haringey PCT n/a 14 n/a n/a 
			 5K7 Camden PCT n/a 30 n/a n/a 
			 5K8 Islington PCT n/a 9 n/a n/a 
			 QO6 North East London SHA 39 71 n/a 3,015 
			 5A4 Havering PCT n/a 12 n/a n/a 
			 5C2 Barking and Dagenham PCT n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 5C3 City and Hackney PCT n/a 17 n/a n/a 
			 5C4 Tower Hamlets PCT n/a 16 n/a n/a 
			 5C5 Newham PCT n/a 8 n/a n/a 
			 5NC Waltham Forest PCT n/a 13 n/a n/a 
			 QO7 South East London SHA 35 51 n/a 2,424 
			 5A7 Bromley PCT n/a 13 n/a n/a 
			 5A8 Greenwich PCT n/a 8 n/a n/a 
			 5AX Bexley PCT n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 5LD Lambeth PCT n/a 11 n/a n/a 
			 5LE Southwark PCT n/a 6 n/a n/a 
			 5LF Lewisham PCT n/a 8 n/a n/a 
			 Q08 South West London SHA 45 94 n/a 1,286 
			 5A5 Kingston PCT n/a 16 n/a n/a 
			 5K9 Croydon PCT n/a 24 n/a n/a 
			 5LG Wandsworth PCT n/a 15 n/a n/a 
			 5M6 Richmond and Twickenham PCT n/a 19 n/a n/a 
			 5M7 Sutton and Merton PCT n/a 20 n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a = Not applicable.
	(3) Figures as at 30 September each year.
	(4) Figures for the financial year.
	Source
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

General Practitioners

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners he estimates over-prescribe (a) Seroxat and (b) other selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not available in requested format.
	It is not possible to estimate the numbers of general practitioners prescribing above the recommended doses.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the link between hormone replacement therapy and an increased risk of (a) stroke and (b) heart disease; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and its expert working group on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has kept the safety of HRT under constant review and provided targeted advice to women and health professionals in response to important new evidence as it has emerged.
	Despite some weak observational evidence suggesting a possible benefit, HRT has never been licensed for the prevention of heart disease in the United Kingdom. In 2002, two large studies in the United States provided important new clinical trial information about the effect of combined oestrogen plus progestogen HRT on the risk of heart disease in women with and without a pre-existing heart condition. One of these studies further demonstrated an effect of HRT on the risk of stroke. Immediately upon publication of this study, the CSM informed health professionals and women that HRT had not been proven to be beneficial in preventing coronary heart disease and may in fact result in a small increase in the risk in the first year of use. The CSM also advised that this type of HRT causes a small increase in the risk of stroke.
	Clear warnings about the risk of heart disease and stroke in association with combined HRT use have been agreed throughout Europe and are being included in the summary of product characteristics for health professionals and the patient information leaflet that accompanies each pack of medicine.
	In addition, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has placed a comprehensive review of the risks (including heart disease and stroke) associated with HRT use on its website. Detailed information has also been published in the safety bulletins issued by the MHRA and the Chief Medical Officer, which are available on their respective websites.
	The CSM's expert working group on HRT has been informed that the oestrogen-only arm of the US Women's Health Initiative trial has now found that the risk of stroke in users of this HRT preparation is increased similarly to combined HRT. These findings have not yet been published, but will be urgently considered by the CSM and its expert working group on HRT as soon as they are available. When their review is complete, the current product information will be updated as necessary and women and health care professionals will be clearly informed of the new advice.
	The CSM advises that for the alleviation of menopausal symptoms, health professionals should prescribe the lowest effective dose of HRT for the shortest possible time and perform regular health checks on HRT users, including a reassessment of the need to continue HRT on an annual basis. The CSM also advises that for the prevention of osteoporosis, HRT should only be used by women who are intolerant of, or contraindicated for, other medicines approved for this purpose.

IT

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation has been undertaken with healthcare professionals before the awarding of contracts under the National Programme for Information Technology; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Extensive consultation has taken place with clinical representative groups, including the professional Royal Colleges, the General Medical Council, and the British Medical Council, all of whom have provided valuable input. As well as the national professional bodies and groups, the national programme for information technology (NPfIT) team has engaged closely with expert primary care practitioners, including practising general practitioners, who are there to represent and feedback issues with their professional colleagues.
	The National Clinical Advisory Board has ensured that the wide-ranging clinical needs and requirements are reflected in the design of the NPfIT solutions and integrated into the ongoing plans of the programme. There are currently 29 full members and 12 working groups covering a variety of care settings, from cancer care to out of hours care.
	The NPfIT to date has hosted around 400 local events, engaging managers, clinicians, allied health professionals and IT staff. Over 21,000 individuals have been involved. We are undertaking a concerted effort to ensure as many people as possible are now engaged on the local plans to prepare for phased roll out after April 2004.

Seroxat

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the data on which the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency based its statement of 11 March on dosage levels of Seroxat was first made available to the regulator.

Rosie Winterton: The advice issued by the Committee for the Safety of Medicines (CSM) on 11 March 2004 followed a re-evaluation of the original dose finding studies carried out for the licensing of paroxetine in 1990. This forms part of the ongoing in-depth review of the safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), including paroxetine (Seroxat), by the CSM's expert working group on the safety of SSRIs.
	The expert group initially reviewed one of the dose finding studies for paroxetine in October 2003. On the advice of the expert group, the manufacturer was then asked to provide data to justify the current dosing recommendations for all indications as part of the European review of the risks and benefits of paroxetine. The expert group reviewed all the information available at its meeting on 27 February 2004.
	On 10 March 2004, the CSM endorsed the advice of its expert group and advised that public communication was necessary on the basis of the re-evaluation of clinical trial data and the evidence of prescribing of paroxetine outside of the recommendations in the summary of product characteristics, in particular the use of starting doses above 20 mg in the treatment of depression.

Mental Health Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on primary care trust provision of mental health services.

Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts have a crucial role to play in both the commissioning and provision of mental health services. We know that up to one in four primary care consultations concerns a mental health problem and many people receive all their mental health care and treatment from their general practitioner.
	In recognition of the importance of primary mental health care, the National Service Framework for Mental Health (1999) set two standards to deliver better services and to ensure the provision of consistent advice and help for people with mental health needs in primary care.
	The NHS Plan (2000) set targets to put in place 1,000 graduate primary care mental health workers and 500 new community mental health staff by December 2004. The National Institute for Mental Health in England has established a work programme on primary care mental health.
	These developments are complemented with investment in improving GP premises and increasing the number of GP registrars. Last year, the NHS Plan target to put in place 550 GP registrars by March 2004 was met more than nine months early and we now have 637 more GP registrars in post than in 1999.

Obesity

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government has to designate a single body to co-ordinate work across government in tackling obesity.

Melanie Johnson: The Department takes the lead on work to tackle obesity. However, the Department cannot tackle obesity alone. Cross-governmental working is essential. The Government launched their major consultation on public health this month. The Public Health White Paper will provide the overarching framework to improve public health and will present real opportunities to progress work on the prevention and management of overweight and obesity.
	The consultation will enable a wide range of stakeholders to contribute to the debate on overweight and obesity. This will build on the work already started through the food and health action plan and the activity co-ordination team. The Government will draw up their White Paper in the light of the consultation.

York District Hospital

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when building work on the children's assessment and treatment area at York District Hospital was completed.

Melanie Johnson: This facility was completed at the time the modernised accident and emergency department at York District Hospital was brought into use in February 2001.

York District Hospital

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the area set aside for the children's assessment and treatment area at York District Hospital is currently being used for.

Melanie Johnson: This area is not being used at the present time.

York District Hospital

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the observation beds in the accident and emergency unit at York District Hospital to be used; for what reason they were built; and at what cost.

Melanie Johnson: The observation bed area is now being used for the treatment of patients with minor injuries attending the accident and emergency department, on a three month pilot basis.
	This facility was built as part of the overall accident and emergency department modernisation scheme, to allow scope for future service development.
	The total cost of the accident and emergency modernisation scheme was £2.16 million.